[General]: 423.The Ultimate Battle: Duel of Fates.TUB:DoF 2

A week had passed since Angel's bailing trial. Nine o'clock Friday morning, Dante had woken up to a distant and annoying sound of paper rustling. Fed up with the sound, Dante got up, and out of bed, and made his way down to the living room area. He found Angel sitting on the couch, with paperwork piled everywhere.

"Who left this garb-" Dante started, but paused, and restated what he was saying. "Oh, Angel, It's you. What the fuck happened to you?"

Due to the sudden break of silence, Angel jumped, and looked up, seeing Dante.

"Oh, Dante, morning," Angel said almost dully. Dante stepped into the living room, and sat on the chair opposite of the coffee table. He picked up a paper with nothing but zeros and ones all across the page.

"What the fuck is that?" Dante questioned. "I can barely understand it, and I'm sure as hell not using my scout on it." Angel looked up at Dante again.

"It's a murder investigation," Angel said.

"Murder for what?" Dante questioned Angel. "I may want to join in."

"Something," Angel said, shrugging some.

"Something my tail," Dante said, setting the paper down. He had noticed Angel's dulling voice, and cocked his head slight to the right. "Have you been to sleep yet, you stupid girl?"

"No, I haven't, what's it to you?"

"Holy Christ!" Dante exclaimed. "Ask a female something and the go all bitchy on you. Now I know why they say not to mess with one on PMS."

Dante stood up, and walked back towards his room, figuring he was up, he might as well go train. Angel sighed softly, as she hung her head. She should have never acted that way towards Dante, he was a good friend of hers, and she had respected him for thirteen years. She then stood up, and walked into the hallway, leading towards Dante's room. Upon reaching his door, she knocked twice, and waited for a response.

"Who is it?" asked Dante.

"It's me," said Angel.

"A’ight, come in," said Dante. When Angel heard his permission, she turned the doorknob, and opened the door. She arched her left brow when she didn't see

Dante anywhere, and the only other way out was his double window. Suddenly, she felt a strong force meet with her back, as she flew at the nearest wall. Turning her body, she managed to have her feet hit the wall, and pushing back against it, she back-flipped onto the floor, landing on her feet.

"'Oy! That was a cheap shot, Dante," said Angel. Dante appeared in front of Angel, laughing. After a matter of seconds Dante looked to Angel with a smirk on his face.

"Come train with me," he said. "We'll have some fun."

"I came in here to apologize for when I said earlier to you," said Angel. "It wasn't respectful of me."

"I'll forgive you, if you come and train with me," said Dante, crossing his arms.

"Alright, let’s go," said Angel, walking past Dante. Dante stuck his foot out, and tripped Angel, watching her tumble over.

"Have a nice trip, see you next fall," Dante said. Angel rolled onto her back, and sat up, then stood.

"Oh, you're going down," said Angel, as she chased Dante out into the back yard. Angel and Dante began to fight each other in the mini-stadium Angel had built five years ago, before she stopped using her gifts.

"So, how much longer do you plan to not use magic anymore, Angel?" asked Dante, as he sent his right foot at Angel's head.

"I'm not sure," replied Angel, raising her right hand to stop Dante's kick. She sent her left fist at Dante's nose, but was counter-attacked by a knee to her gut.
She fell to one knee, gasping lightly. They'd been fighting for 4 hours straight; Dante wasn't tired, but rather pumped up, and Angel, not, and refusing to use her other side, was already tired. She stood up, and just as she did, a small 'pop' was heard, and appearing between them both was one of their fellow allies. Knives Cordello. This man stood six feet, three inches tall, shoulder length black hair, and a muscular form.

"Some friends you are, fighting and you don't even send a god-damn invite," Knives said in a sarcastically sad tone.

"Well, if you weren't married to the janitor, maybe we would have," said Angel in a sympathetic tone.

"Was that supposed to be funny, Angel?" asked Knives. "Because I am not laughing."

"Wasn't supposed to be funny," said Angel truthfully. "Was supposed to make you look dumb."

"Ha-ha, very funny," said Knives.

"So, what are you doing here, Knives?" asked Angel.

"I was hoping to have a word with Dante," said Knives.

"What do you need?" asked Dante.

"Just need to tell you a few things," Knives said. "That is if you don't mind, Angel."

"Hey, it isn’t like him and I am married," said Angel. "We just live under the same roof. Anyway, I've got to go to Hot Topic anyway, to see Sunny, so I'll be back in a little bit."

"Alright, be careful though," said Knives. "A lot of traffic."

"Yeah, yeah," said Angel, as she walked off the stadium. When Angel was out of sight, Knives turned to Dante.

"We've a big problem on our hands," Knives blurted out.

"What kind of 'problem' are we talking about?" asked Dante.

"The kind of problem that involves magic-" Knives was cut off short.

"Hold up a minute," Dante interrupted. "Magic? That's not my field, Knives."

"I know," said Knives. "I just need your help, your strength. You know I'm not that strong."

"You're strong enough to deal with your own problems," said Dante. "But, on second thought, I do need a good fight. Hasn’t had one since Angel stopped using her non-human side."

"Yeah, I still wonder why she did it," pondered Knives loudly.

"Says it was too much of a hassle," said Dante, shrugging. "Anyway, enough of that, what's this problem dealing with, that you couldn't tell Angel as well?"

"Do you know of her brother?" asked Knives.

"If you're talking about Erin, yeah, I know him," said Dante. "He visits every so often."

"No, not Erin," said Knives. "Arcaine, oldest brother to the Takahashi mediate family."

"Never heard of him," said Dante. "What's so special about him?"

"He's tearing up everything, causing total destruction in the western part of the world," Knives said, crossing his arms.


Angel stepped into Hot Topic, and looked around for Sunny Henson. Sunny was a seventeen-year-old girl, whose mother was a drug addict. She was a cute, yet short young girl, standing five feet, two inches tall, with shoulder-blade length black hair, and beautiful shinning blue eyes, blue eyes that held a lot of sadness. She would never smile out of happiness, unless Angel was there, she was a very quiet young girl, but polite to everyone. Angel had taken care of Sunny since she was ten, and raised her as best as she could. A minute had passed before Angel saw Sunny near the back of the store, hanging up clothes, and putting away accessories. She made her way over to Sunny, and cleared her throat. Sunny stood up straight, and turned around quickly.

"Hello, welcome to Hot Topic, how may I-" Sunny paused, and realized that it was Angel. "Oh, hello, Angel."

"Hello to you too, Sun," said Angel, smiling. She was the only person who ever called Sunny, "Sun".

"So, how's Ma doing'?" asked Sunny, as she turned back to placing the stuff away. Angel leaned up against the wall, and watched Sunny.

"Well, do you want the absolute truth?" asked Angel.

"The truth sets us free," said Sunny, as she looked to Angel. "That's what you always taught me."

"Seven years of teaching, and what a mighty fine young lady you are," said Angel smiling a bit. The smile didn't last long though, as the thought of Sunny's question popped back into her head. "Well, your mother is doing, shall we say, 'okay', but not too well."

"Figures," said Sunny. "All that coke, LSD, cigarettes, and other drugs, she's bound to die off soon."

"I've known your mother for a long time, Sun, and I'm sure she'll try to get better for her girl," said Angel.

"As far as I know, Angel, you're more of a mother than my Ma will ever be," said Sunny, in a matter-of-fact tone. Angel was almost shocked to hear this comment, but said nothing towards it. A few moments of awkward silence passed, but were then broken by the ringing of Angel's cell phone.

"Takahashi speaking," said Angel. She was silent while the caller spoke, and then answered with: "Alright, be there in a sec."

"Who was it?" asked Sunny.

"Dante," said Angel. "I'll be back in a little while to pick you up, but here's some money if I don't get to you. Buy yourself some dinner and things like that." She gave Sunny forty-five dollars, to ride the bus home.

"Okay," said Sammie, taking the money. Angel turned, and left Sunny to do her work. She got inside her red 1997 LE-1 Ground fighter, revved up the engine, and took off down the empty street. In twenty minutes of driving, Angel finally pulled into the driveway, and entered the house. She found Dante, Matt, Knives, Shinomori Sheng, Seiko Desdemona, and Shiroi Suki in the front room, sitting around the coffee table.

"Angel, we have a crisis at hand," Shinomori said, standing up as Angel came into plain view of everyone.

"What kind of crisis are we dealing with?" asked Angel.

"One that involves your supposed brother, oh, what was his name, Arcaine?" said Dante in a sarcastic tone.

"Arcaine," said Angel, as she plopped down into the unoccupied seat next to Knives. "What's he doing?"

"He causing extreme mayhem and destruction in the western part of the globe," Knives explained. "We've heard he's coming for you, Angel."

"Figures," said Angel, placing both hands on her knees.

"What do you mean by 'figures', Angel?" asked Shinomori.

"She probably means it's a sibling rivalry," said Seiko, a twenty-three year old trainer, and one of Angel's former students.

"Something like I and Matt have?" asked Dante, mentioning his brother Matt.

"You could say so," said Seiko. "But seeing as Arcaine and Angel are the two most powerful beings, Magic wise, in the entire universe, you'd expect them to be in such a huge fight such as this."

"It's only a matter of time before this world goes into total chaos, and only the strongest will survive," said Shiroi, a forty-two year old veteran of the Iraq war, back in 2005.

"Even in our world now, only the strong survive," said Seiko. "If you’re weak, you die."

"Just what in the Sam-hell are you, meaning, Shinomori, Seiko, and Shiroi doing here, of all places in the world?" asked Angel, breaking up the conversation.

"We thought, maybe we could help you, or something," Seiko said quietly.

"Help? You know how I am about that," said Angel standing up. "If it's a fight between me and my brother, then nobody is going to get involved, but I, and only I. I can't risk your lives."

"You're forgetting one small detail, girl," said Dante, rising to his feet.

"Oh yeah, what's that?" said Angel, smartly. Dante frowned, as he stepped up to Angel and looked at her.

"I can't die, unless I want to," said Dante slowly. "You're my ally, and I'll help you, or just fight if I damn well feel like it. So next time, watch your fucking mouth or I'm going to make sure it stays shut for a long time."
Silence grew throughout the room, as Angel and Dante stared at each other. Everyone in that room knew that if they attempt to break up a quarrel between two of the strongest fighters in the universe, all hell would break loose in the manor. Finally, after what seem liked a long time, Angel finally turned away, and walked to the staircase, that lead to the attic.

"I think it best if you all leave right now," said Dante in an eerily calm voice. For a second, everyone just stood there, until Dante raised his voice. "Did I stutter? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I told all of you to get the hell out."

Slightly startled, everyone got up, and started to disappear, though Knives walked up to Dante and looked at him for a few moments.

"If you're going to go talk to her, be careful, okay?" Knives said.

"I've convinced her in a lot of things before, I can do it all over again," said Dante.

"I don't doubt it," said Knives, and with those last words, his image had vanished in a blink. Dante turned and walked over to the staircase, but instead of walking his way up, he flickered. In the darkest corner of the room, Dante stood in silence, watching Angel sit on the floor, hands in lap. On the wall, in white chalk, he saw big, bold letters that read "LOSING FAITH". Angel rocked back and forth, silently, humming a song that didn't sound like something you'd hear on Earth. Very stealthily, Dante walked up behind Angel, and looked down. He gave her a few seconds to see if she'd turn around at all, but she didn't.

"Losing faith?" asked Dante. "The hell's that supposed to mean?"

Angel jumped, and turned around quickly.

"Would you stop sneaking up on me like that?" asked Angel.

"No, too much fun," said Dante, as he moved onto Angel's right side, and sat down. "So, you want to tell me what's wrong, or need I force it out of you? Because I can do both at the same time, you know."

"Nothing's wrong," said Angel, as she hugged her knees to her chest.

"Oh, bullshit, Angel," said Dante. "I've known you for thirteen fucking years, and so far there hasn't been a damn thing you've been able to get by me, so why don't you save energy, and just tell me now, before I torture you."

"It's just, after all this time, I thought he'd never come back," said Angel.

"Okay, okay, hold up, start with the family history, then work your way up, so I understand all of this in one night," said Dante.

"All right, if you say so," said Angel.

"Oh, I say so," said Dante. "So get on with the story."

"Story time?" asked Matt, as he entered the attic.

"Buzz off nothing for brains," said Dante.

"Hey, I live here too, you know," said Matt.

"'Oyo, come 'ere, Matt, I'll tell you both," said Angel. Matt moved onto Angel's left, and sat down, listening now as he fell silent.

"All right, well, the Takahashi family is a very old family, I'm sure you're aware of," Angel began. "Been around since 100B.C, but we're going to start with my father, Roubanouf, who was born in 156A.D, making him eighteen thousand, nine-hundred sixty-two years old. Thirteen thousand six hundred thirty-eight years ago, Arcaine was born, the first child in the intermediate family. Five thousand, ninety-four years later, I was born, and then a hundred twenty-five, Erin was born. While grown up with Arcaine, we never got a long, kind of like your and Matt, Dante.

"A hundred years ago, way before I had met anyone such as you guys, I managed to get Arcaine to leave the Earth, and never return here, for a long time, due to our passion in hatred for each other, and our lust for ultimate power of the universe, seeing as at the time, we two were the strongest beings in the entire universe. When I was completely sure I'd rid of him, I stopped using my magic for big causes, you know, using major magic. But now that Arcaine's back, I don't think I have it in me to go up against my brother, and even have a chance at winning against him."
Suddenly, Matt grabbed Angel's cheek, and pulled on it.

"What the fuck, Matt?" said Angel, slapping his hand away.

"And you don't have one wrinkle," said Matt.

"If you don't stop, you'll have wrinkles before I do," said Angel. Matt kept his hands to himself, and fell silent. Dante inhaled deeply and then exhaled slowly.

"Quite the story," said Dante. "I'm surprised I didn't yawn."

"Very funny, Dante," said Angel.

"Whoa, wait, so, you're two hundred and thirty years old, yet thirty years old too, at the same time?" asked Matt.

"No, I have a twin named Tenshi," said Angel.

"But tenshi means 'angel', so there's" Matt slowed his thinking. "Oh, wait a second! Duh! You're not full human!" Matt rubbed the back of his head laughing softly.

"Dolt," said Dante, as he reached around Angel, and smacked Matt upside the head.

"Hey, what was that for?" asked Matt.

"Being the mistake that you are," said Dante.

"Oh, you two are just too much sometimes," said Angel, as she stood up. "I'll see you two in the morning, I'm going to bed. Sayonara."

"Night, Angel," said Dante.

"Sleep tight, Angel!" exclaimed Matt enthusiastically. Dante and Matt looked at each other for a moment, and then Dante twitched nervously.

"The hell was that, Dante?" asked Matt.

"My having to look at you," said Dante, sniggering. She flickered before his brother could say anything else.

Chapter One: Unwanted Visitor

[Where were you to hold my hand, through the things that we had planned? Yes I need you by my side, when things go crazy. I just need to know you care, guarantee you will be there. When I wake up in the night, will you be my guiding light?]


Angel looked out the window of a train, as the fast moving objects flew by. After a few moments, she turned around and looked at the suitcase on her right side. She picked it up, and set it on her lap. The case was silver, with two latches in the front, which held the lid closed tightly. She had no idea what was in the suitcase, but it felt heavy. Her train started to slow down, and she stood up, holding the suitcase tightly in her right hand, her left one held onto the bar, as the train came to a complete stop. Stepping off the train, Angel turned to the right, and walked towards the stairs, that lead to the street above. She took out a pair of black tinted sunglasses, and placed them on her face, as she reached the street, and began walking towards the manor. Many people around her were moving quickly. In and out of buildings attending to their errands. Angel waited at a cross walk for a moment. Glancing off to her right, she noticed a figure looking straight at her. The figure was a woman, wearing dark glasses, and a scarf around her head. She had her hands folded, and stood completely still. Angel shook her head some, and crossed the street. Twenty minutes passed, and she had finally reached the front door of the manor. She opened it, and entered, removing the sunglasses from her face, and looking around.

"Hey, anyone home?" Angel called out. Nobody answered her. She gave a soft sigh, and went down the hall, and up the stairs, to her bedroom. She opened the oak door, and stepped inside, shutting it behind her.

"Now," said Angel, "what should I do with this suitcase?"

She looked around a bit, and seeing as the top shelf of her closet was the only safest place, she slid open the door, but found Matt huddling in the corner of it.

"Holy shit, Matt, what the hell are you doing in there?" asked Angel.

"Someone came, and asked for you," said Matt. "I told them you were out running errands and they said they-- wait, what's that in your hand?"

"A suitcase," said Angel. "I need to keep it here."

Matt stood up, and stumbled out of the closet.

"They were looking for that!" exclaimed Matt.

"Who?" Angel asked. "Who was looking for this?"

"Some really tall guy, with silver hair," said Matt. "He looked like Sephiroth but--"

"Did he have a tattoo on his right eye?" asked Angel, in a serious tone.

"Y-yeah, he did, they looked like arrows," said Matt.

"Shit," said Angel. "Take this, and put it on the shelf, then go into the basement, and stay there until I come get you. By the way, where's Dante?"

"He's fighting him," said Matt. As soon as Matt mentioned this, Angel turned, after handing the case to Matt, and ran outside into the back, where the stadium was, and saw the man who Matt described, and Dante, on a one-on-one battle. Sadly, Dante's choice of an opponent was chosen badly, because he was losing.

"ARCAINE SUOH TAKAHASHI!" yelled Angel. Her heart pounded inside of her chest, seeing her brother here, after all these years. Angel's brother knocked Dante hard onto the stadium floor, literally sending him through the material. Arcaine then turned and looked to Angel, a big grin on his face, seeing his baby sister.

"Dear sister, dear baby sister," said Arcaine, "how are you after all these years?"

Angel glared at Arcaine, an anger rising up inside of her. She tried to keep her cool, as she watched her brother approach her off the stadium, his eyes shinning with a deadly look, and his smile, near mischievous.

"How dare you come to my home," said Angel, "and beat down on my allies. I dislike it greatly."

"Now, now, Angie," said Arcaine, "they asked for it. Especially that enthusiastic one."

Angel took in deep breaths, trying to stay as calm as possible, because she knew if she unleashed her untrained power, she would be in great trouble. After a few moments, Arcaine was close to Angel, looking down at her.

"Little sister, where is the suitcase you picked up?" asked Arcaine.

"What suitcase?" said Angel, trying to stall until she could figure out a way to get rid of him, without her getting harmed. She needed to get over to Dante, and see if he was all right.

"You know which one," said Arcaine. "That old woman gave it to you to protect."

Angel looked away, remaining silent. She could tell Arcaine was getting agitated. Suddenly, she felt her brother's large hand grab her chin, and held it, so she was forced to look into his eyes.

"Tell me where the case it, and I'll let your friend live," said Arcaine. "I know he's a saiya-jin, and can't die unless he wills it, but I can arrange that."

An idea came to mind for Angel. She pulled away from Arcaine, and snapped her fingers. A silver case appeared in her hand, and she held it out to him.

"Good girl," said Arcaine. He took the case from her, then leaned in, and pressed his cold lips to her right cheek, kissing her gently. "We'll be meeting soon."

A flash of light, and Arcaine had disappeared. The moment Arcaine had gone, Angel ran over to the stadium, leaping up onto the stage, and ran over to the pit Dante was in. She moved quickly over to him, and knelt down, turning his body onto his back, and checked his pulse. He was still alive, thankfully.

"Dante?" she said, shaking Dante slightly. "Dante, wake up, please."

No response came from Dante. His body lay still. Angel sighed softly and brought his body into a sitting position.

"Dante, if you don't wake up right now, I'm going to cut your balls off!" exclaimed Angel. Instantly, Dante opened his eyes, and looked at Angel.

"The hell happened?" he questioned her.

"My brother," said Angel. "You shouldn't have taken him on. You might be extremely strong, but he's too much for you."

"That means I'll have to train more, won't it?" said Dante in a serious, matter-of-fact tone.

"You don't get it!" exclaimed Angel. "You were almost killed!"

"You know I can't die, unless I want to," said Dante, trying to stand up, which he managed, but slightly stumbled, due to his brutally beaten body. Angel stood up as well, taking his right arm, and moving it around her shoulders, her left arm moved around him, and held his waist gently. Using the little magic she still had mastered, she levitated into the air, and landing softly on the flat part of the stadium. She helped Dante towards the manor, even though she knew he didn't want the help. When inside, she helped Dante over to the leather chair, and sat him down.

"Wait here, I'll go get something," said Angel.

"No, don't, I'm fine, god damn it," Dante protested.

"Like hell you are," said Angel. She turned, and stepped into the kitchen, getting a bowl, and a wool cloth. After grabbing these materials, she walked over to where Dante still sat, and began to clean his bloody wounds off his chest, face, and arms. She knew Dante was an extremely powerful being, and didn't get worn out easily, but she could tell a lot of energy had been sucked out of him, due to Arcaine.

"Why did you fight my brother, Dante?" asked Angel, in a calm tone, continuing to clean his wounds. Afterwards, she began to place ace-bandages around his critically wounded areas.

"Breaking and entering isn't what you do to this house-hold," said Dante slowly. His mind denied that he was defeated.

"He'll be coming back, you know," said Angel. Her crystal blue eyes looked at Dante some. "I don't want you fighting him when he does."

"What the hell should I do then, huh?" said Dante. He tried sitting up, but Angel pushed him down.

"Damn it, Dante!" said Angel. "For once, just once, will you let someone take care of you, instead of insisting that you're fine, when you're clearly not?"

"Damn it, lady...I am fine, us Saiyans can take a lot of pain as well as heal quicker than normal, now will you cut out that nurse routine and get me out of these bandages?" said Dante

"No, now shut the hell up, and let me take care of these blasted wounds," said Angel.

"Look, lady, I told you, cut the nurse act and get me out of here, otherwise I'll have to do it myself," Dante said, glaring to Angel. Angel sighed softly, and placed the cloth in the bowl.

"Stubborn ass," said Angel. "Why not for once just rest a little to regain your strength, eh?"
Dante still glared at Angel, and slowly began to rip off the bandages she had placed on his body.

"The day I rest from a fight is the day I'll give up my pride," said Dante. "Now you can just sit there trying to break through, or you can begin training me so I'm ready."
Angel slapped her forehead, sighing softly. There was no use in arguing with Dante any further. He has won this argument, like any before.

"Oy, you saiyans," said Angel. She removed the bandaging from Dante's body, and pulled him to his feet. "Lets go to the divinatory, we'll train there."

As she took the bandages from his body, he nodded once, and smirked, following her quite rapidly, despite his condition.

"Now look, I don't ask you go easy on me, so show me what you have," said Dante. Angel arched her left eyebrow as she looked at him, while leading him to the divinatory. When they reached what looked like an ordinary closet, she opened it, and found brooms.

"God damn it," said Angel. "Stupid thing, stop being stubborn." She shut the door, waited a moment, and opened it again. A very large, silver room was seen. She let Dante go in first, and then followed behind him, shutting the door behind her.

"Alright, Dante," said Angel. "You're going to learn a bit more magic, than you already know."

Looking to Angel, his face seemed to show a slight note of confusion.

"This better be important, after all, I need to train my body too, not just magic, now let's get this over with," said Dante. Being a smart ass, she mouthed what he said, but in a stupid way. She then laughed slightly afterward.

"Alright," said Angel. "Show me what you got, because it's been a while since you last used the magic. You were what, seventeen, eighteen then?"

Dante, noticing Angel mouthing the words, faked a laugh but showed her a little of his dark power.

"I may have been seventeen, but it doesn't mean I haven't been practicing since then, now let's go," said Dante. Angel smirked some, and nodded.

"Very well," said Angel.