Malice by X Crossover

Shadows of Darkness
by: Korogi Nagisa
January, 1999
Part 4

      Mana raised his arms above him as he stood next to Kozi on one of the four corners of the intricate symbol on the floor. "Powers of the East, Keepers of the Sun, " he began, speaking slowly and clearly, trying not to seem as if he was stalling for time. "Complete this circle and bring the dark forces unto this earth…"
      The room around the four began to shake, the water in Hide's pool splashing around. His pool had become deathly cold again, the wizard huddled in a corner, shivering tightly. The lit torches around the dungeon began to dance wildly, growing in intensity with the shaking of the ground.
      "Bring unto us the powers of the blackness…" Mana found himself yelling to be heard above the growing chaos, feeling his chest tighten with each word. This was it. Yoshiki was taking too long. There was little more he could do.
      Mana opened his mouth to begin the next verse… only to find that his voice refused to work.
      "Finish the spell, Mana!" Kozi snarled beside him, his black eyes seeming to catch fire.
      Mana tried again, only again to find his voice gone…
      "… and into our domain," Kami began, trying to overtake Mana's position in the circle. He pushed him out of position, raising his arms above him. "You're going to kill us all, stupid," he whispered, motioning the man in the blue dress to replace Kami's position.

      As Yoshiki watched the young man sleeping in his arms, the tomb began to shake, the glass of the coffin beginning to crack beside him.
      "There's something I should be doing…" he whispered, looking back to the young man almost dead in his arms.
      "Yoshiki…" the man whispered, drawing arms up to wrap around Yoshiki's shoulders. "Our world…"
      "Hide…" he whispered back, the memories flooding back to him. "Shit. Hide, wake up!" he yelled, pulling Hide away from him, shaking him back and forth.
      The pink head just bobbled back and forth, still asleep.
      "Hide! This is no time to nap. Wake up, you oaf!!"
      Again, the tomb shook, the glass coffin splintering beginning to leak water.
      "Come on, Hide…" he whispered, drawing the man back up into him. "Wake up"

      Hide watched as a dark cloud began to form above Kami, like an inky black phantasm. On occasion, a bolt of lightning would threaten to rip the cloud into pieces, creating a thick, ionized stench to the air. He shivered and looked down.
      The water level in his pool was dropping… quickly too. It had dropped nearly 4 inches in the past minute. "Oh gods…" he whispered, sitting down in the water, despite its frigidness.
      As another bolt of lightning split the air, Hide noticed a familiar figure slink from the stairs. The tall, lean man he had seen in the Peace. Oh, what was his name… "Camui," he whispered, watching the man out of the corner of his eyes, barely visible above the edge of the pit. He watched him draw closer before Camui leapt down into the pool, splashing Hide with the cold water.
      "Fuck! It's cold!" Camui sneered, looking over to Hide.
      "Tell me about it."
      "Ha ha… some attitude… we have front-row tickets to the end of our existences." Camui looked over to Hide, watching the man nervously watch the water. "What's wrong?"
      "The pool's draining," he whispered, almost afraid to speak.

      Yoshiki was almost soaked, half the water had drained from the glass coffin above him, soaking both he and Hide in water that was just about as warm as pure ice. "Hide…" he whispered again, running a hand over the other's cold cheeks. "This isn't funny anymore. Wake up!"
      Again and again, Yoshiki tried to wake his lover, and again and again he failed at each attempt.
      Yoshiki held Hide to him tightly, digging his long fingers into the white fabric of Hide's robes. He didn't know what to do.

      Hide's eyes were wide as Camui wiped his face of his stringy, pink hair. The water was almost gone, and Hide was quickly loosing his life force. His lips were turning quickly blue, his hair bleaching out, bleeding pink streaks down the wall of his pit. "You… you have to stop them," Hide whispered, his eyes glassy and wide as he looked to Camui.
      "You're dying…"
      "Stop them…" he whispered, leaning back against the wall, Camui scooping some of the water up to pour over Hide's head. "Stop them…"
      Camui mentally smacked himself as he stood to his feet, trying to put Hide's dying figure to the back of his mind. He was the last that could do anything… it was up to him… He took a deep breath just at Kozi's eyes fell on him, seeing the red wizard almost ignite before him. "STOOOOP!" Camui yelled moments before the black cloud above them all exploded.

      Hide had long since stopped breathing, his figure going limp in Yoshiki's arms. The coffin had drained completely, the last of the cold water seeping into the rock floor of the tomb. "What do I do…" Yoshiki was close to tears as he clutched onto Hide tighter and tighter. "I don't know what to do Hide, tell me!!"
      Yoshiki forced his stinging eyes closed, a stray tear cascading off his face and onto Hide's cheek. "I can't do this without you… I need you. I love you."

      Camui found himself under a pile of old books at the other end of the dungeon. He had blacked out after the cloud had exploded and could only imagine that he had been blown back by the blast.
      As he tried to dig himself out from under the books, a hand reached down to aid him, covered in a black glove. He followed the hand up to find Yu-Ki glaring down at him, a more sinister and heavier malice to his smile. "Trying to be the hero, are we?" He reached down and grabbed Camui by the shirt, haling him to his feet, flinging him into the center of the small dungeon.
      "So then… what should we do with our captive?" Kozi smiled, leaning an elbow on Yu-Ki's shoulder.
      "Can I keep him?" Yu-Ki chuckled, grinning like a child.
      "You have a play toy already."
      Camui straightened and snorted. "Not any more. He's dead."
      Yu-Ki frowned and broke from the group to saunter over to the pit. He looked over the brim to see Hide in a pile at the bottom of the dry pit, blue and cold. "Ah, nuts," he frowned, turning back. "That's no fair."
      "No fair?" Mana echoed lightly, drawing a look from Kozi.
      For a moment, the four wizards all looked among each other, Kozi and Yu-Ki cornering Kami and Mana.
      There was a sound from the stairwell, before a blood-curdling scream resonated through the walls. "HIDE!!! NOOOOO!!!"
      Mana choked slightly, Kozi quickly stepping forward to grab his chin, lifting the porcelain face. "Child… is there something you should be telling me? You look shocked."
      "Leave her alone, Kozi," Kami spoke softly, stepping forward. "She's just a bit uneasy."
      "You know, you two have been acting odd," he pointed a red-gloved finger at Mana and Kami collectively.
      Camui gathered himself as the two warlocks were beginning to suspect their own kind. "I can't let you kill these lands."
      Kozi turned like a snob interrupted during a fit of attention-grabbing. "I'll thank you to stay out of our business." He flipped his wrist at Camui as if shooing off a fly, Camui finding his body easily lifting off the ground to sail across the room.
      The stone wall rocketed toward him, Camui bracing for the impact that would most likely finish him off… but it never came.
      Instead, as he opened his eyes, he found himself stopped, floating just inches from the wall, gently descending to be set back on the ground.
      Yoshiki stumbled from the stairwell, pale and shaking. His face was wet from tears, the wizard wiping the back of his arm over his eyes. "I won't let you do this," he snarled, taking a stance behind Mana and Kami. "If I die trying…"
      "Then you'll die trying," Yu-Ki smiled, raising a hand. A fierce bolt of wind struck through the dungeons targeting Yoshiki. The wizard tried to block, managing only to raise his arms to divert the air around him. The air was laced with millions of pieces of sand, thrown at his skin at unimaginable speeds to begin slowly knicking away at his arms. Yoshiki tried to conjure up a lightning spell as he diverted the wind, only to have it easily knocked away by Kozi.
      "You're like a gnat," Kozi was saying as Yu-Ki kept hitting Yoshiki again and again with the bolts of wind. "So small and powerless, yet so annoying…" A sharp pain caught Kozi in the shoulder, quick black eyes and even quicker reflexes whirling to catch Camui behind him, blood dripping from a long dagger the man held onto. Kozi wasted no time and threw Camui over his shoulder on a bee-line for Mana, the two colliding and ending up in a pile at Kami's feet.
      Mana was barely phased, quickly helping Camui to an upright position, hands running over the mans' body to check for injuries.
      "You're working with the mortals, Mana?" Yu-Ki cocked his head to the side as he heard Kozi seething beside him. Both turned eyes to Kami, helping them both to their feet.       "You BOTH are traitors!" Kozi screamed.
      The black cloud conjured by the spell gathered over Kozi's head, beginning to quickly overtake the torch light in the dungeon. All reality was plunged instantly to black, Yu-Ki's wind releasing Yoshiki.
      Mana clung to Camui's arm, feeling the other herd him behind. The room was pitch-black and sickeningly cold. Mana could feel Kami's presence behind as Mana clung to Camui's back, burrying his head in Camui's shoulder.
      The only sound was Kozi's shrill whispers, chanting and casting off in the darkness. "Why waste our time on you four," his voice came through the air, dark and demonic. "If you're not with us, you're against us. You'll die as easily as the light…"
      "Light… is stronger than dark," came a soft voice through the air, seeming to fill the darkness with a new warmth that was never present before.
      "Who said that?" Kozi's voice snarled, the sound of both Kozi and Yu-Ki shuffling through the darkness beyond. "Trying to be clever, Yoshiki? Simple parlor tricks won't work on me!"
      Slowly, a soft glow began to fill the room, so faint at first that no one could see it. But as the light grew, it appeared to be coming from Kozi.
      Yu-Ki frowned beside his brother and stepped aside. "What are you doing?" he frowned.
      Kozi stepped back only to find that the light followed him, taking over the dark shroud that seemed to be encompassing the red warlock. Nervously, Kozi brushed his hands over his cloak as if the light was dust he could simply brush off. It grew lighter and lighter, bleaching out Kozi's red, seeming to begin to replace him.
      "Wha… what's going on here…" Kozi whispered, more to himself, frantically brushing his clothes. "Yu-Ki, do something!"
      "Like what!!" he squeaked, the white light beginning to overtake him also.
      Brighter and brighter the light grew, a blinding light that Mana, Kami, Camui and Yoshiki had to shield their eyes, all huddling down close to the ground, Camui covering Mana's body with his as if to shield him from the light.
      Kozi yelled out followed by Yu-Ki as the light over took them, devoured them whole. But still, the light grew, grew hot, almost unbearable. Yoshiki summoned a cooling spell, managing to keep the white light from burning them all to cinders…
      And in the blink of an eye, the white light exploded and vanished, leaving the torches in the dungeon lit, dim yellow light replacing the light in the dungeon.
      "What the hell was that?" Camui whispered as he sat up, helping Mana to his feet. Kami and Yoshiki pulled themselves to their feet.
      It was Kami who spotted the creature first, a tall white flowing thing suspended behind them. They all turned, watching. It seemed to be humanoid.
      It stretched out white, glowing arms, glowing white robes flowing around the figure. "Yoshiki…" it whispered.
      "Hide?" Yoshiki pushed through between Mana and Kami, cautiously approaching the glowing figure. Slowly, it floated back down to the ground as Yoshiki reached out a hand to touch it. Warm, vibrant skin met his hand, the white light beginning to fade. Replaced was the lean, familiar pink-haired figure Yoshiki had known all his life, smiling back on him. On the figure's right cheek was a small, blue etched tear drop, sparkling before fading off into nothingness. "But…"
      He smiled and reached out a hand, smoothing it over Yoshiki's cheek. "We're two halves of a whole… we need each other."
      "But… you died, Hide. You died in my arms! How…"
      "Almost died," Hide corrected with a wink. "You were a bit slow on the punch… you had me worried there, Yo-chan," Hide chuckled and looked past his stunned lover to Camui, Mana and Kami.
      "I… don't understand…"
      Hide just shook his head at Yoshiki and tapped his cheek where the blue tear drop once was. "You've always had the most powerful magic in the world, Yo-chan. You just never knew it."
      Yoshiki was clueless, reaching forward to hold Hide as tight as he dared.
      "Love," Mana whispered behind the two wizards," turning an eye on Camui. "The most powerful magic in existence."
      Camui turned his face, more to hide the fact that he was blushing. Mana just chuckled beside him, drawing a chuckle from Kami above him.
      Kami grew serious, laying a hand on Mana's shoulder. "We forgot someone."
      Mana's eyes grew large, his glance falling to Camui. "Father…"

      Lord Grace wrinkled his nose as he looked out of the window of his castle, the night air ruffling his short, brown hair. Behind him, Toby stood in silent watch, a brown shadow in the stone room.
      Off in the distance, a white light could be seen through the trees, the white light that always radiated from the Peace beyond the town. "Toby, he spoke as if bored. "Why haven't the lights in that annoying clearing died yet?"
      "I don't know, Lord Toshi," the beast spoke, barely ruffling the air with his huge, deep voice.
      Lord Grace sighed and leaned on the window sill. "Why don't you go see what my sons are up to… and while you're at it, bring Mana to me. I wish to speak with her."
      "Yes Lord…"
      Toby had barely finished his deep bow when the door to Lord Grace's room opened.
      Lord Grace turned slowly from the window to see Mana enter into the room quietly and softly, bowing his head slightly to Toby. "Well, what a coincidence," Lord Grace said, raising an eyebrow. "Come here, child," he beckoned with a finger, patting the window ledge beside him.
      Obediently, Mana floated across the room and sat on the ledge beside Lord Grace. "Yes, Father?"
      "You see that over there," he pointed to the glow of the Peace. "Why is THAT still there?"
      "I… I don't understand," he whispered.
      "Mana Mana…" Lord Grace tisked. "Do you think I don't know? Do you think that I didn't know that you made Toby take you to the Peace today after I specifically told you that you could NOT go there?"
      Mana frowned slightly and looked to Toby. The beast lowered his eyes quickly. "Father…"
      Toshi stood to his feet swiftly and grabbed Mana by the arm, hoisting the thin, frail young man to his feet. "You know how much I HATE it when you disobey me!"
      "Father, I didn't…"
      "Don't you talk back to me, young lady!" he yelled down to Mana before he began to haul him out of the room. "You have to be punished now."
      Mana tried to resist Lord Toshi as he pulled him out of the room and up the stairs of the tower. Mana was screaming, his frail voice echoing through the thin, stone staircase that wound around the tower, splintering to pieces on the walls.
      It was little effort for Lord Toshi to drag Mana to the top of the tower, kicking the door to his daughter's room open with a swift foot. Tears were cascading down Mana's face as he still struggled against Toshi's grip…
      "Let him go."
      Lord Toshi stopped in mid stride within Mana's room, his grip releasing to send Mana crashing to the floor. Seated atop the coffin at the foot of the bed was Camui, the long dagger balanced on his knee.
      "Him? Him who… and just who in the hell are YOU!?"
      Camui leapt off the coffin to help Mana to his feet, wrapping long arms around the smaller body. "You've lived with Mana for how long and didn't know that he was a man?"
      "You're insane. Get out of my house before I call my guards and have you escorted to the door in forty different pieces."
      "Empty threats from a man who locks his children in their own coffins as punishment."
      "Within minutes, my sons will be here and will have disposed of you…"
      "No they won't father," Kami said, appearing in the doorway. "Kozi and Yu-Ki were consumed by their quests for power.

Unfinished...

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