[General]: 423.The Ultimate Battle: Duel of Fates.PT4

Chapter Two: The Phoenix and the palace


[I hold my breath as this life starts to take its toll. I hide behind a smile, as this perfect plan unfolds, but oh God I feel I've been lied to. Lost all faith in the things I've achieved and I... I've woken now to find myself in the shadows of all I have created.]


Dante, Matt, and the man who had arrived, sat in the room that Angel used as an office, at a large round table. Matt had just finished explaining to the man about their situation. A long silence had been played as the three men sat looking from one another. The man from The Phoenixes stared at Matt blankly, for what seemed like forever, before he shook his head, sighing deeply. He leaned back in the chair, and lifted both feet up, setting his feet on the table, his right foot on his left.

"Now," said the man, his voice deep, like a distant rumble of thunder, "you're telling me you made no attempt to go after Angel when she neither was attack nor made an attempt to protect your own brother. What a sad little man you are. Yes, very."

Matt looked down some; remaining silent his pride had been crushed by a total stranger. Dante was growing impatient with all the waiting. His ally had been captured, and he disliked it. He suddenly stood up from his sitting position and looked at the man.

"You," said Dante. "If the doors unlocked, I say we just break in, instead of standing here like idiots, after all, they have Angel in there, and I'm not rocking anything."

Dante lifted his right hand up, and placed it against the doorframe. Arcaine may have taken his abilities, but he was still a demon. The man had stood up, as well, and looked down at Dante. A smile curved onto his lips as he moved close to Dante, his platinum blonde hair fell around his face.

"Because, Dante” said the man, "just breaking and entering will not work very well. We need a plan. Arcaine is a cleaver man, and seeing as you don't have your powers, just your weapons, it'll be useless for the time being."

Dante turned, looking to Ezekiel, pointing his left index finger at Ezekiel, speaking to him, his voice now a little dangerous than usual, his pale blue eyes began to flare.

"Look, Ezekiel, you guys can plan and let the poor girl die, but I'm going to save her," said Dante. "When you have changed your mind, you know where I'll be."

Again, Dante looked away from Ezekiel, and placed his hand against the doorframe, opening a path to Arcaine’s palace. He began to move through the portal he had opened, but was stopped by Ezekiel’s grasp. Dante whipped around and glared at Ezekiel, with his pale blue eyes. He tore his arm away, keeping the portal open.

"Ezekiel, this better be good, otherwise you'll end up as puppy chow," said Dante, his voice agitated by Ezekiel’s stalling. Ezekiel took Dante's hand away, closing the portal. As soon as Ezekiel had done that, Dante move his left leg up, and swung it towards Ezekiel’s mid section, slamming up against his rib cage, kicking him into the wall they were by. Ezekiel stood up after falling to the floor, and dusted himself off, then popped his neck. Again, he looked to Dante and gave a deep sigh of annoyance by the arrogance and cockiness of Dante.

"Listen, you can't go that way," said Ezekiel. "You'll attract too many guards, and set off the alarms. Arcaine will take Angel to a different hide-away. Don't you ever think before you strike?"

"How bout a little less questioning and a little more shut the hell up, Ezekiel, an ally's in danger, and I can't just sit and do nothing," said Dante. Ezekiel laughed as he looked at Dante still. Dante was getting extremely aggravated now, and couldn't wait any longer. He thrust the heel of his palm at Ezekiel’s nose, but was abruptly stopped by who seemed to be Angel. Her figured was cloaked but you could see her face. Dante pulled his hand back and cocked his head to the left. He looked almost astounded to see her. In a hasty voice, Angel spoke to the three men, "Be careful when you come, Arcaine will be ready and waiting for your arrival. There are nine guards at the front gate, seventeen guards at the back gate, and thousands of guards within the palace itself. They're a high challenge, believe me. I fought with them when I tried breaking free myself. Take that into mind, men."

Angel's eyes had darted towards Dante after she had finished, then vanished into nothing with a small wisp of white smoke. Dante arched his right eyebrow, and then looked towards Ezekiel, as if looking for an explanation as to what had just happened. Ezekiel just bowed his head and chuckled.

"I've got a plan," said Ezekiel softly.




Meanwhile, Angel groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry as she looked around, trying to see where she was. She moved both her arms forward, but didn't move two inches without restraint. Sighing softly, she knew she was chained to the wall. Ticking sounds were heard outside her cell door, her vision had come back. Looking at the window area of the cell door, she saw the silhouette of Arcaine. Arcaine opened the door, and flicked on the light to the cell. He had a big grain on his face as he looked to Angel.

"Finally awake, are we?" asked Arcaine, slowly walking towards his sister. He placed his right hand on the left side of her head, and his left hand on her chin. Angel looked away, even if her face was towards Arcaine's.

"So, Arcaine, what the hell am I doing here?" asked Angel, her voice soft, and low. "I thought maybe you'd fire me into outer space, or cause excruciating pain."

Arcaine laughed as he neared his face towards Angel's. His nose was less than half-an-inch from hers. Angel's eyes moved to look straight into Arcaine's. She could feel his cold breath on her lips, her heart racing some. Arcaine had a high chair appear behind him, and he sat down in it. The chains that bound Angel to the wall extended, as Arcaine pulled Angel onto his lap, the pressed his ear against her chest, listening to her heart, as he closed his eyes. After what seemed like long minutes of time, Arcaine placed his left hand on Angel's lower back, his right on the back of her head. He pulled her down, so the left side of Angel's neck was exposed to his mouth.

"Your skin was always so soft, your blood always so pure," said Arcaine. "We're the left of the Takahashi family, Angel. Why not bond some?"

Before Angel could say anything, she felt her brother's cold breathe once again, then the touch of his cold lips against her flesh, before the pain of his fangs breaking her flesh open. Arcaine tasted Angel's blood drain into his mouth, as he drank some of his sister's blood. Angel felt his tongue brush against her once, then moving his mouth off his sister's neck, he pushed her against the wall, standing up, as he licked the blood from his lips, watching as some blood dripped from Angel's neck.

"What a rush, little sister," said Arcaine. "You're blood is so sweet."

He laughed softly as Angel's chains retracted back into the wall, and Arcaine's chair disappeared. Arcaine leaned forward, his lips just barely brushing against his sister's. He smiled once, then turned and walked away, shutting the cell door behind him. Angel's head dropped as she panted softly. She concentrated on healing the wound, which happened slowly. 

Walking down to his room, Arcaine smirked lightly to himself. Reaching the door, he opened it to find Bliss lying in bed, in a skimpy looking black, nearly see through gown.

“It took you long enough, what were you doing with her?” asked Bliss.

“Nothing, My love, I was just welcoming her to her last breath of life,” said Arcaine. “If she refuses to stand by me, then she will die.”




Back at the manor, Dante, Matt, and Ezekiel were getting things together to make their move on Arcaine’s castle.

“All I’m going to need are my pistols and my sword,” Dante said. “Nothing more for me.”

“H’m, I guess I’ll bring Angel’s sword with me for when she needs it,” said Matt.

“You’re a real fucktard, Matt,” Dante said.

Ezekiel eyed the both of them for a moment, and then placed his hand against a wall. Closing his eyes for a moment, he concentrated. Within a matter of moments, he had opened a portal to a room that looked similar to a dungeon setting. The three men entered into the new room, the portal to the manor closing behind them. They made their way out of the dungeon, and made their way through the main building. They dodged anything that seemed to be living.

“Do you know where we’re going to, where Angel is held?” Dante asked.

“Yes, I know exactly where we’re going,” said Ezekiel.

The men made their way around a maze type setting, zigzagging their way around the castle.