Adapt to Live [Part 16]
Nov. 17th, 2015 09:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonFandom: Noblesse
Summary: It's been a long time since Tao had seen an angel, not since ze left Heaven and turned into a demon. Ze hadn't thought it was possible to pass through the barrier between Heaven and the physical realm without changing. M-21's task in the physical realm is to kill as many demons as they can. Except the pieces aren't fitting together.
Contains: Violence and blood.
Rating: PG-13
Genre: General
Word count: 1,538
Total word count: 34,928
Status: Work in progress
Why... Except M-21 knew why. There weren't that many of M-21's batchmates left in Heaven. Only a handful. Maybe even less than that if more had been sent through after M-21. If M-21 had passed through unchanged, then that could be true of the rest of their batchmates, so the rest of them had to be tested.
When M-24 saw them, they halted, their eyes narrowing. "Demon!" they yelled, summoning their sword. "You dare try to attack us here?"
M-21's ears flattened. Dammit. They didn't want - they didn't want to do this. M-24 was their closest batchmate, the angel M-21 had known the longest. They'd always stayed by each other's side; the only time they'd been apart was when M-21 had finally been called to the Lord to be given their task. And now, M-24 couldn't even recognise them.
M-24's eyes widened slightly as the tip of their sword dipped.
"M-21...?"
Hah... M-21 nodded. It had been a long time since they'd heard their designation from a familiar person. It no longer brought the warmth it used to.
"I barely recognise you." That wasn't surprising, not when they were no longer wearing their robes, and their hat covered their hair. The only part of them uncovered was their face.
"The Lord told me you'd turned your back on Them," M-24 said, and M-21 clenched a fist, sucking a breath. Crombell had told them. Why would Crombell tell M-24, but not the rest of them? Was it because of what Crombell had learned from their connection? "I didn't want to believe... But I should have had faith in Them."
M-21 wanted to look away, but they couldn't afford to, not when more M-21 batch angels were coming through into the barrier. With each new angel, the heat increased around them.
If M-24 went completely through the barrier... M-21 hissed, focusing on them. "You'll turn into a demon!" If they could - they could warn them. M-24 could turn around and not lose the connection with the Lord. They wouldn't lose their mind.
"I won't." M-24's sword tip raised again.
"You weren't created for this!" M-24 had to believe them! "If you were, why do you think They made more of me?" M-21 flung a hand out to indicate the angels around M-24. "There would be no reason to if you wouldn't change!"
M-21 saw doubt flash across M-24's face. Yes! If they could just-! "Why would They make more of me if I'd turned my back on Them?" M-21 pressed.
M-24 shook their head, and M-21's stomach shrivelled up. No... Please. They didn't want to fight M-24...
M-24's tip of their sword rose again, their lips thinning. "The Lord said you would try to turn me against Them. I won't listen to you. When I finish this, I'll earn my name."
Just like M-21 had thought. They wanted to tell M-24 so much, that they'd gone through the same things, everything they'd learned since arriving in the physical realm. But they couldn't, the words staying on their tongue unsaid.
Earning a name was the most important thing to their batchmates, just behind serving their Lord. There would be no way to sway M-24's mind.
Their chest hurt at the thought of what they had to do, already hurt at the other angels and demons they'd killed, some who'd known what had happened, others that hadn't.
M-21 gritted their teeth, ignoring the feeling as best as they could. They couldn't afford to be distracted by their body now. They flexed their hands before flitting to M-24's side. It wasn't what they used to do when they sparred against each other, but M-21 had to finish this quickly to save energy to fight the other angels.
Another angel flitted in front of them, blocking their blow. Dammit-! They were surrounded in a blink of an eye, the angels with their swords raised to strike.
The M-21 batch would know how they would attack. Of course.
"Hold!"
The other angels didn't attack, and M-21 looked over their heads as M-24 turned to face them.
"You've learned a lot as a demon," M-24 said, their voice quiet. Their expression was blank, and M-21 never wanted to see it again directed towards them.
"I learned it as an angel," M-21 replied, hardly able to get their voice above a whisper. They'd had to. If they hadn't, then they or the people around them would have died.
"Leave them," M-24 said to the other angels, and M-21 blinked, not understanding what they were saying. "This is between us."
M-24 wanted to fight one-on-one, like they used to in Heaven. Like they'd been taught to.
The other angels didn't protest, backing off. They didn't move to fly off further into barrier either, watching both M-24 and M-21.
The tension in M-21's body disappeared, and their shoulders slumped from the suddenness of it. They had a chance. They could keep the angels from grouping with the others this way.
So long as the other angels didn't decide to fly off, but from the way the angels reacted to M-24, it seemed like they would listen to anything M-24 said and not think to do anything more.
M-21 could hope.
M-24 drifted a small distance away, the other angels moving back more to give them space. When they stopped, M-21 waited, watching them. Could they try flitting to behind M-24 again? M-24 knew that trick now, and would be more prepared for it. Damn.
"Aren't you going to summon your sword?" M-24 asked, frowning at them.
...Had M-24 been waiting for that?
After the fights they'd had with demons, waiting to make sure the other was ready wasn't something M-21 was used to anymore. It seemed like a waste of time. Especially since - "I don't have it anymore."
M-24's eyes widened, their wings rustling. "That was taken when you turned your back on the Lord?" Then their narrowed their eyes. "Or did you throw it away?"
"Hah." Something wanted to bubble up from M-21's throat, making their breathing hitch and they didn't know why. The situation was ludicrous and just so wrong that their body must not know how to react. They clamped down on the feeling, like everything else.
"I see." M-24 flexed their wings, readying their sword. "There's no point talking with you."
"No," M-21 said, their teeth gritted, "there isn't." They couldn't change their batchmate's mind, and M-21 wouldn't back down, even though there was little chance of them surviving. They needed to kill as many angels as they could so the barrier wouldn't collapse.
M-24 still hesitated charging them, and M-21 had to take whatever advantage they could get. M-24 hadn't gone through attacking another batchmate before, not like M-21.
M-21 flitted above M-24, diving at them. It would give M-24 a chance to counter, but just maybe-!
M-24 swung their sword around them and M-21 flitted away again, trapping the growl in their throat. They had no weapon or magic to use against M-24 - nothing that would help them attack from a distance.
From the set of M-24's jaw, M-21 could see M-24 had steeled themself to attack properly now.
If they could force M-24 to let go of their sword, that would give them enough time to strike. They would be able to – get close enough to kill them.
It was getting harder to breathe, M-21's breath coming in short gasps as they drew their power to their hands again.
M-24 charged at them and M-21 flitted away, too used M-24's patt -
M-21 wheeled out the way of M-24's charge, and dammit, M-24 had flitted while still charging.
It had been too close. M-24 span around and M-21 climbed up, going higher to get out of the way of the strike. M-24 followed and M-21 was wasting too much energy, even though there was a high pitched tone in their ears that wouldn't go away.
Sucking in a breath, M-21 closed their eyes for a second and flitted behind M-24.
M-24 span around and M-21 caught their sword in their hands.
They could feel the edge of the blade press against their palm, but they wrapped their glowing hands around the sword and ripped it out of M-24's hand.
M-24 ducked out the way as M-21 dived at them. Dammit! It was too much effort trying to maintain everything, their back muscles aching from their constant tensing with their wings and after they'd already fought the other angels.
Their body was tiring. It was taking more effort to do the same things it had been doing before.
M-21 hadn't been able to kill one more angel yet and their body already needed rest.
But they could - "Argh!"
Electricity erupted from M-21's back, punching through their stomach and enveloping their entire body. They couldn't think, could barely breathe through the haze as their body screamed they pay attention to the sword in their stomach.
The angel lowered their sword with M-21 still on it and M-21 slid off it, spiralling towards the other angels, unable to flap their wings to slow their descent.
When they hit the floor, all the air in their body was punched out again.
Summary: It's been a long time since Tao had seen an angel, not since ze left Heaven and turned into a demon. Ze hadn't thought it was possible to pass through the barrier between Heaven and the physical realm without changing. M-21's task in the physical realm is to kill as many demons as they can. Except the pieces aren't fitting together.
Contains: Violence and blood.
Rating: PG-13
Genre: General
Word count: 1,538
Total word count: 34,928
Status: Work in progress
Why... Except M-21 knew why. There weren't that many of M-21's batchmates left in Heaven. Only a handful. Maybe even less than that if more had been sent through after M-21. If M-21 had passed through unchanged, then that could be true of the rest of their batchmates, so the rest of them had to be tested.
When M-24 saw them, they halted, their eyes narrowing. "Demon!" they yelled, summoning their sword. "You dare try to attack us here?"
M-21's ears flattened. Dammit. They didn't want - they didn't want to do this. M-24 was their closest batchmate, the angel M-21 had known the longest. They'd always stayed by each other's side; the only time they'd been apart was when M-21 had finally been called to the Lord to be given their task. And now, M-24 couldn't even recognise them.
M-24's eyes widened slightly as the tip of their sword dipped.
"M-21...?"
Hah... M-21 nodded. It had been a long time since they'd heard their designation from a familiar person. It no longer brought the warmth it used to.
"I barely recognise you." That wasn't surprising, not when they were no longer wearing their robes, and their hat covered their hair. The only part of them uncovered was their face.
"The Lord told me you'd turned your back on Them," M-24 said, and M-21 clenched a fist, sucking a breath. Crombell had told them. Why would Crombell tell M-24, but not the rest of them? Was it because of what Crombell had learned from their connection? "I didn't want to believe... But I should have had faith in Them."
M-21 wanted to look away, but they couldn't afford to, not when more M-21 batch angels were coming through into the barrier. With each new angel, the heat increased around them.
If M-24 went completely through the barrier... M-21 hissed, focusing on them. "You'll turn into a demon!" If they could - they could warn them. M-24 could turn around and not lose the connection with the Lord. They wouldn't lose their mind.
"I won't." M-24's sword tip raised again.
"You weren't created for this!" M-24 had to believe them! "If you were, why do you think They made more of me?" M-21 flung a hand out to indicate the angels around M-24. "There would be no reason to if you wouldn't change!"
M-21 saw doubt flash across M-24's face. Yes! If they could just-! "Why would They make more of me if I'd turned my back on Them?" M-21 pressed.
M-24 shook their head, and M-21's stomach shrivelled up. No... Please. They didn't want to fight M-24...
M-24's tip of their sword rose again, their lips thinning. "The Lord said you would try to turn me against Them. I won't listen to you. When I finish this, I'll earn my name."
Just like M-21 had thought. They wanted to tell M-24 so much, that they'd gone through the same things, everything they'd learned since arriving in the physical realm. But they couldn't, the words staying on their tongue unsaid.
Earning a name was the most important thing to their batchmates, just behind serving their Lord. There would be no way to sway M-24's mind.
Their chest hurt at the thought of what they had to do, already hurt at the other angels and demons they'd killed, some who'd known what had happened, others that hadn't.
M-21 gritted their teeth, ignoring the feeling as best as they could. They couldn't afford to be distracted by their body now. They flexed their hands before flitting to M-24's side. It wasn't what they used to do when they sparred against each other, but M-21 had to finish this quickly to save energy to fight the other angels.
Another angel flitted in front of them, blocking their blow. Dammit-! They were surrounded in a blink of an eye, the angels with their swords raised to strike.
The M-21 batch would know how they would attack. Of course.
"Hold!"
The other angels didn't attack, and M-21 looked over their heads as M-24 turned to face them.
"You've learned a lot as a demon," M-24 said, their voice quiet. Their expression was blank, and M-21 never wanted to see it again directed towards them.
"I learned it as an angel," M-21 replied, hardly able to get their voice above a whisper. They'd had to. If they hadn't, then they or the people around them would have died.
"Leave them," M-24 said to the other angels, and M-21 blinked, not understanding what they were saying. "This is between us."
M-24 wanted to fight one-on-one, like they used to in Heaven. Like they'd been taught to.
The other angels didn't protest, backing off. They didn't move to fly off further into barrier either, watching both M-24 and M-21.
The tension in M-21's body disappeared, and their shoulders slumped from the suddenness of it. They had a chance. They could keep the angels from grouping with the others this way.
So long as the other angels didn't decide to fly off, but from the way the angels reacted to M-24, it seemed like they would listen to anything M-24 said and not think to do anything more.
M-21 could hope.
M-24 drifted a small distance away, the other angels moving back more to give them space. When they stopped, M-21 waited, watching them. Could they try flitting to behind M-24 again? M-24 knew that trick now, and would be more prepared for it. Damn.
"Aren't you going to summon your sword?" M-24 asked, frowning at them.
...Had M-24 been waiting for that?
After the fights they'd had with demons, waiting to make sure the other was ready wasn't something M-21 was used to anymore. It seemed like a waste of time. Especially since - "I don't have it anymore."
M-24's eyes widened, their wings rustling. "That was taken when you turned your back on the Lord?" Then their narrowed their eyes. "Or did you throw it away?"
"Hah." Something wanted to bubble up from M-21's throat, making their breathing hitch and they didn't know why. The situation was ludicrous and just so wrong that their body must not know how to react. They clamped down on the feeling, like everything else.
"I see." M-24 flexed their wings, readying their sword. "There's no point talking with you."
"No," M-21 said, their teeth gritted, "there isn't." They couldn't change their batchmate's mind, and M-21 wouldn't back down, even though there was little chance of them surviving. They needed to kill as many angels as they could so the barrier wouldn't collapse.
M-24 still hesitated charging them, and M-21 had to take whatever advantage they could get. M-24 hadn't gone through attacking another batchmate before, not like M-21.
M-21 flitted above M-24, diving at them. It would give M-24 a chance to counter, but just maybe-!
M-24 swung their sword around them and M-21 flitted away again, trapping the growl in their throat. They had no weapon or magic to use against M-24 - nothing that would help them attack from a distance.
From the set of M-24's jaw, M-21 could see M-24 had steeled themself to attack properly now.
If they could force M-24 to let go of their sword, that would give them enough time to strike. They would be able to – get close enough to kill them.
It was getting harder to breathe, M-21's breath coming in short gasps as they drew their power to their hands again.
M-24 charged at them and M-21 flitted away, too used M-24's patt -
M-21 wheeled out the way of M-24's charge, and dammit, M-24 had flitted while still charging.
It had been too close. M-24 span around and M-21 climbed up, going higher to get out of the way of the strike. M-24 followed and M-21 was wasting too much energy, even though there was a high pitched tone in their ears that wouldn't go away.
Sucking in a breath, M-21 closed their eyes for a second and flitted behind M-24.
M-24 span around and M-21 caught their sword in their hands.
They could feel the edge of the blade press against their palm, but they wrapped their glowing hands around the sword and ripped it out of M-24's hand.
M-24 ducked out the way as M-21 dived at them. Dammit! It was too much effort trying to maintain everything, their back muscles aching from their constant tensing with their wings and after they'd already fought the other angels.
Their body was tiring. It was taking more effort to do the same things it had been doing before.
M-21 hadn't been able to kill one more angel yet and their body already needed rest.
But they could - "Argh!"
Electricity erupted from M-21's back, punching through their stomach and enveloping their entire body. They couldn't think, could barely breathe through the haze as their body screamed they pay attention to the sword in their stomach.
The angel lowered their sword with M-21 still on it and M-21 slid off it, spiralling towards the other angels, unable to flap their wings to slow their descent.
When they hit the floor, all the air in their body was punched out again.