Jaida glanced around a little, wanting to find a way to see the battle better. Her eyes soon caught sight of a fire escape that led to the top of the building. She ran to it, and out of curiosity, Mr. Owens followed.
"Up here," she told him as she began climbing. "We'll be able to see better." Mr. Owens made no complaints as he began going up the ladder after her, his eyes remaining on the battle above. It looked like they were currently evenly matched. They were fighting mainly with fists since both knew that they had a better chance doing damage like that. Magic tended to get dodged.
Jaida and Mr. Owens were soon on top of the nearby building, now able to see the battle better. It was hard to tell who was winning. Jaida smiled brightly when she saw Arius grab Lucius's arm during a punch. The Deslyan threw him downwards, and it looked like he'd slam into the building across from them, but he caught himself at the last second. There was a de
Arius snapped to attention as Jaida cried out after colliding with the ground for a second time that night. For now the thought of his bleeding arm was pushed to the back of his mind. He had to make Lucius pay for hurting Jaida. The angel was currently preparing to throw his sword downwards, aiming it at her. Arius wasn't about to allow something like that to happen.Just as Lucius began preparing to throw his sword like a spear, Arius came up behind him and grabbed it, his hand locking around the red and silver blade. Lucius glanced back at him, watching in slight surprise. Arius is bleeding arm was now pouring out even more as his hand was getting cut by the blade. However, in one quick motion, he pulled back on it, and the sword snapped in half. He quickly took the piece he had and thrust it towards Lucius. It ended up going through the angel's left wing.Lucius cried out a bit as his own blade pierced through him, and he found it to be d
Throughout the game, each of them was getting to hit the tennis ball a decent amount of times, which was rather surprising. Arius was actually letting Jaida participate instead of taking every shot for himself. It was kind of nice knowing that he could work with her as a team. They made a good one at that."Hey," began Amy, returning Jaida's serve. "Do you know if Mr. Owens is back?""I heard some kids talking," began Seth as he slammed his racket into the ball, sending it over the net. "I think they said he's here.""Are they gonna rebuild his house?" she asked."I think so," responded Jaida as she hit the tennis ball gently. "He's staying with some friends for now, but I think he said it'd be rebuilt. We'll have to ask him.""Look out!" shouted someone from a nearby court. All four of them turned to see what was going on. Jaida's eyes widen
When his sight finally adjusted, he found that he was standing in the park in Jaida's city. It was dark, the stars painting the night sky above. It was beautiful, but he wasn't focusing on that. His eyes were currently wide with horror, because what he saw wasn't in any way a portrait of beauty. On the ground before him was Jaida, lying limply on the soft green grass. However, something was horribly wrong. She was as still as death, and it was hard to miss the reason. Four bloody gashes were open across her chest, ranging from her neck to her waist. There was no doubt in Arius' mind as he stared at her pale form. She was dead.Arius began backing away slowly, confused and terrified. The image was mind boggling, and the smell of blood was horrific. He just couldn't take this anymore. He couldn't take anymore of these images. His mind was just too exhausted, too distraught. However, when he finally began to feel aware again, w
"It really does say that," she told him, "but I added the 'in bed' part." Arius sighed in deep relief, but his anger quickly flared up. That fortune had just caused him a lot of mental anguish."Do you enjoy torturing me or something?" he asked her a bit loudly. "Why would you do something like that?""It's only a game," she stated, setting down his fortune. "It's just something you can do with fortune cookies. It makes them more interesting. Besides, why were you taking it so literally? You looked really nervous for a moment." Arius said nothing. He only blushed a bit, doing his best to fight it down. He didn't need Jaida seeing him like that. He wasn't supposed to get embarrassed. He never used to. Just what was happening to him?Jaida just watched Arius for a moment, unable to remove her eyes from him. He
When they finally reached the area where the gate had opened, it began closing. They were still in the park, but they would end up in the city if they went any further. This was all just so confusing right now. Why had the gate opened? Had someone gone through, or had they come out?"Just what's going on?" asked Jaida, looking to Arius for an answer. Unfortunately, he couldn't provide one. He was unsure about this himself. Why would the gate open without a reason?Jaida screamed a bit in surprise when the nearby bushes and trees began rustling. This part of the park was a bit more shaded, seeming like a miniature forest. Something was lurking in the shadows, and whatever it was had definitely startled her. She was now hiding behind Arius, who had his attention on the rustling plants. His eyes hardened, and he prepared himself for a possible encounter with an enemy.The trees and bushes began to part as whatever was hidin
Jaida felt like fainting. The rush of blood to her head was making her dizzy, and she knew her face probably resembled a tomato right now. She was blushing like mad, but no one could really blame her."H-he does not," she stated, trying to convince Nero that he was wrong. "He couldn't. I'm human." She suddenly felt a bit disappointed as she continued. "He could never love me.""My, my," began Nero playfully, a very impish smile on his face. "Was
The angel spread his wings, flexing them just a bit as he shifted Jaida once more. He watched in fascination as Nero, broken and bandaged, did the same. The Deslyan was bold, that was for sure."Follow me if you want," said Lucius, "but before Arius returns, both of you will die. I'll make sure of it." And with that said, he took off, and Nero followed shortly after. He had to keep the angel busy until Arius got back. He couldn't let Jaida die, even if it meant that he would be killed by Lucius. It didn't really matter anyway. Either he'd die by the hands of the angel or Arius would kill him personally. His life was more or less
Apparently Lucius had picked a rather unpopulated area, one full of buildings in need of renovation. Some were commissioned to become apartment complexes, others factories. Some were just going to get knocked down. It made Arius wonder why the angel had picked such a place. Lucius often liked tormenting the human race. Why pick a place where there was literally no one? He began to feel a sense of impending terror. He knew he wasn't going to like what he'd see. He was praying that he was wrong, that Nero and Jaida were safe and sound back at her house. However, he already knew that was impossible.Pain seared through Nero's right
"Arius!" she shouted, watching as he straightened a bit. As he began turning slowly towards her, she began running, sprinting as fast as she could towards him. She couldn't wait to hold him, to feel his arms around her. She wanted to hear his voice again, to hear him say how much he loved her. When she finally reached him, when she was no more than a foot away, she reached out, leaned forward, closed her eyes, and…knocked him right off his feet, both of them going over the edge of the building.The first thing she felt was his arms encircling her, holding her tightly so that she wouldn't fall. The two of them were just floating in midair, and he was the only thing keeping her from falling to the Earth below. Neither one said anything at first. Jaida was crying, her arms around his waist, placed tightly and firmly against his back. She had her face buried in his chest, her small body shaking with each joy filled sob.Arius could do not
Jaida sighed for what felt like the one hundredth time that day. Each day that passed was getting harder and harder for her. She found herself exhausted most of the time. Other times she was just bored and unable to concentrate. She knew she was staring out the window, oblivious to the topic her teacher was preaching. Usually she tried to stay focused in Mr. Owens' class simply because she owed it to him. However, on a Friday such as today, concentrating always seemed harder. She just wanted the weekend to come so that she could spend some time out walking. Even if she was alone, she wanted to just be out and away from her house. There were too many things there that reminded her of how much she missed Arius. She needed to try and focus less on how sad his departure was and more on how happy she'd be to finally see him again.However, she had to admit that the thought of him being alive, the thought of him coming back was slowly slipping from her mind. It had be
"Fine," he eventually said. "I'll do it." He couldn't fight the smile that spread across his lips when he saw Jaida's face light up."Thank you!" she shouted enthusiastically. She ran and grabbed her book bag, shoving everything in quickly. She ran back and stopped before leaving his classroom. "I can't wait to tell Arius when he comes back." And with that said, she ran from his room. He just couldn't repress the smile on his face. For the first time in the past month, she had looked truly happy. She hadn't been forging the light in her eyes or the smile on her lips. She had finally meant it. Plus, in reference to Arius, she had used the proper word. She had said "when."Never. Never in all its infinite years had the universe every witnessed such a battle. The struggle had gone on for what felt like ages, each day passing as if it had been a year, full of loss and casualty. At some points it had been hard to see an end. Many had thought it w
It was another Wednesday, another day just like every other day. Jaida was finding it a lot harder to concentrate in her classes, and if she didn't do something soon, her grades would start slipping. She knew her mother couldn't afford for them to fall too far. She would have to work harder at her job, and then Jaida wouldn't get to see her as much. Now that it was just the two of them again, she enjoyed having her mother home more. It made for good company and conversation.As he went around the room and passed out papers, Mr. Owens couldn't help but spare Jaida a sad glance. She was once again staring out the window, watching the sky. She was always so zoned out by the time she got to his class, so he did his best not to draw attention to her. However, it was hard. He was worried about her to some extent. After all, she rarely spoke up in class, and she no longer stayed after to work on her homework. He wasn't sure if she did it at home or even at all, but he
One month. One full month had passed since the Earth had nearly met a very abrupt end. However, no one even knew of this. No one knew of the battle that had taken place between the angel, Lucius, and the Deslyan, Arius. The human race was incredibly oblivious, but there were two people who knew just how lucky they were to even be alive. It was all in thanks to Arius…and partially in thanks to Jaida.School had gone on normally for her to say the least. The first few days had been nothing but extreme torture, full of her fighting off tears and telling people about what had happened to Arius. Amy and Seth had tried to cheer her up, but it just hadn't been possible. When she had relayed the real story to Mr. Owens, she had broken down in tears. No one could blame her really. She had just lost someone that she loved. It was a hard pain to cope with.As the days had gone on, she had gotten a bit better. She would talk more, even laugh on s
Arius snapped his blood red eyes open and shot Lucius his most threatening glare. This was going to be it. He had to put everything he had into one massive release of pure black magic. That was the only way he'd be able to truly get rid of Lucius. He had to destroy the angel once and for all. After all, the deal had been "no retreating." Lucius couldn't run away this time. He had said it himself. One of them was going to die today."How?" Lucius asked, watching as the tendrils of black light no longer thrashed about wildly. If anything, it looked like they were under Arius' control. The Deslyan's blood red eyes were full of fire, and all of it was being directed towards him."It's over," Arius stated. "One of us will die…that's what you told me. It's time we end this once and for all." Every bit of magic radiating from him suddenly stopped moving, the winds fr
"Jaida?" he questioned, shaking her a bit. "Don't do this. You've gotta wake up." She didn't respond at all to him. She was barely breathing anymore. He bent down a bit, placing his lips to her ear. "You've gotta stay alive. If you do, I promise I'll see you again. Thank you…Jaida.""Well," began Lucius, a very edgy tone to his usually laid back voice. "I see you told her." He slowly began walking forwards, a scowl on his face. "You know the rules. Since she interfered, I'm afraid I'll have to kill her." Arius snapped his attention to the angel, a deep, hateful glare on his face. His blood red eyes were like ice as he stared down Lucius. The angel didn't seem to notice the sudden change in his adversary, because he tried approaching. He apparently thought that Arius was too drained to fight back anymore, so he reached out towards Jaida, as if he was going to take her. Needless to say, this didn't go over well with Ari
As he hit the ground, he felt his broken wing twist a bit more, and he cried out in pain. It blocked out the rest of the sensations in his body, including the way his raw and bloody chest was burning from its recent thrashing. The pain of his broken ribs stabbing into his side was long forgotten, and the taste of blood in his mouth could no longer be sensed. As he lied there, bleeding from every limb he possessed, he found that he just didn't care anymore. The pain had become so great that he felt numb. He couldn't move a single muscle. He could barely even catch his breath. This was really it. He was dying.Arius wanted to get back up, to face down Lucius once more. He wanted to glare at the angel, threaten him, to do something other than just lie here. However, he couldn't find the strength he needed. His mind was blank, every thought being drained from it as he lied there. He found that all he wanted was for this pain to
Jaida had been running for what felt like an eternity, and she still hadn't found hide or hair of Arius. She wasn't sure where to even look. There weren't that many places in the city that a battle could be held at. They obviously didn't want anyone seeing them fight, so it wouldn't be towards the populated areas. They wouldn't have gone to the park. However, they wouldn't have left the city limits either.When she reached the residential area, the place she had started from, she had to stop and catch her breath. It was time to try a new direction. She couldn't take a break for too long. She needed to find her friend. She had to find Arius before something horrible happened to him. He couldn't die; she wouldn't allow it. He had to stay alive for a little longer, at least until she could see him again. All she wanted was to see him one more time.After taking a deep b