bearing the burden part three(cont)

Chapter Seven: Contemplation
         Dustin sat down on the couch next to Raven, sitting in silence, relaxing in each other’s company. Raven leaned over and laid her head on Dustin’s shoulder and Dustin wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
         “I love you,” Dustin said, laying his head on hers.
         “I know” Raven replied, chuckling a little as they enjoyed each other is company. Dustin could not help thinking about what he asked her earlier, about if this was the kind of life she wanted. A life of danger, a constant target for evil, sadistic, psychos who would do anything to goad him into a fight. He would not forgive himself if anything happened to her, but as long as she was near him, so long as they were together, she would be a target to more people like Thomas, or demons hoping to prove themselves. How long could Raven love him if he always put her in unnecessary danger? Sure, he always came to her rescue, but it would only take one time of not getting there in time, and then she would be dead. Could he train her? If she could fight on his level, then enemies would regret taking her captive, if they could even take her captive. Maybe Jesus could train her? Sure, he and Master Sink were friends now, but during the actual training process, they were each other’s worst enemies. Master Sink was brutal when it came to training, and showed no slack for Dustin if he failed. Dustin lost his grip on the side of a wall once, and his hands were taped to the wall and he was left there until the next day. He tried killing his master several times during sparring, but the difference in skill foiled his attempts every time. He would not dare put Raven through hardships like that, not even to prevent more hardships later on. Jesus trained differently though, he did not make you hate him, and no time would pass between her starting and finishing training.
         “What are you thinking about?” Raven asked. She had been looking him in the eyes for the past five minutes, but he was in too deep of thought to notice.
         “Our future” he replied.
         “Think I could ever close the gap between us?” Raven asked, snuggling up to his angelic body.
         “Yeah, but I can’t train you, I couldn’t do it right without making you hate me” Dustin said, hating the fact he could not feel the texture of Raven’s hair on his face, because his body had no skin. He actually had to concentrate to keep himself tangible, so holding their snuggling position was hard enough on him.
         “What do you mean by that?” She asked.
         “Who trained you to hold a gun?” Dustin asked.
         I never knew his name, he was an injured soldier that I came across, and he showed me how to use a gun in exchange for bringing him food everyday” Raven replied.
         “So when he trained you, was h always nice to you, or did he sometimes seem kind of merciless about your mistakes?” Dustin replied.
         “Well, he didn’t want to make me mad enough to stop giving him food, but every now and then he would yell at me” Raven said.
         “Well, when you have to do more than aim and fire, you get yelled at a lot more. Especially when you have to do what most people only dream of being able to do,” Dustin said, hoping they could drop it. Raven seemed to understand what he meant now, and then continued resting her head on his shoulder, sighing because it had no real warmth anymore.
         “Don’t worry, once Jesus gets back from that other dimension, I’ll be back in my body and this will be more comfortable for both of us” Dustin said as he laid his head back on hers, enjoying the peace of mind they had for the moment. Raven never had anyone care for her before, at least not that she could remember. Her parents both died when she turned thirteen, the same day Dustin’s family died. They were in the stands, cheering like everyone else, but there was a riot afterwards and her parents were trampled to death. Ever since, she hated Drake, and resented Dustin for causing the whole mess, until they actually met that is. Raven had had only one boyfriend before Dustin, and that had not worked out well for her either. He was an extreme Drake enthusiast, and took every opportunity to criticize her for everything she did that was not to his liking. These little sessions of ignorant critique often ended with her being hit, and hence she gave up on boys at fourteen, until she met Dustin at sixteen that is. She thought about their first meeting, face to face, and wondered if she actually brought about the change in him, rather than Jesus. Although Jesus completed the change, he had still changed a great deal before he died fighting Drake. She still carried that note with her.
         “If you leave and don’t come back again, I won’t kill you,” Dustin said without looking up.
         Raven, however, was not blessed with super hearing and looked up. It was a mob, torches and pitchforks raised. They did not look like they saw Dustin, so they assumed Raven had told them to leave.
         “Don’t you dare talk to us like that you filthy Christian” someone in the crowd yelled, causing everyone else to cheer. Amazing how the stupid find independence in groups, isn’t it?
         Dustin got up, still invisible to the mob, so all they saw was Raven move to the right slightly.
         “Now get up before we come over there and drag your sorry (expletive) out of here,” another in the mob yelled, making Dustin all the angrier that Raven was being talked to this way.
         “She’s not a bad looker for a (Expletive)-ing Christian, maybe we could have some fun with her before we kill her,” someone else said, and Dustin promptly took his head off with his sword. He would have sooner, but he was in shock at the words leaving his mouth. The mob seemed to ignore the man just being beheaded among them and advanced on Raven. Dustin floated in front of her and became visible, hoping to ward off the mob.
         “Heh, seems that the “Demon Hunter” went and got himself killed on us” someone in the crowd said, the mob laughing. Dustin grinned, and something in his grin killed the mob’s confidence.
         “Maybe we should leave”
         Dustin’s hair started to rise. The mobs turned to leave, and Dustin made fire clones of himself, encircling the crowd.
         “Threaten to rape and kill an innocent being? You think I would let you leave after you threatened to rape and kill her?” the ground began to shake, and Dustin’s body mass began increasing.
         “You must all be OUT OF YOUR MIND” Dustin yelled, his body similar in size to Thomas’s when he transformed. He hammered the nearest person in the face, their body not leaving with the rest of them.
         “Dustin, you’re scaring me,” Raven said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Dustin turned and looked her in the eyes, and his body began to shrink down again, his hair falling onto his shoulders and his flaming clones dissolving into nonexistence. He turned and looked at the crowd, at the fear in their eyes, and saw himself, as he watched his family die. Dustin sighed, and picked up the body of the person he just killed, and reattached his head, glad that he could heal through the power of God more easily now. The person returned to the land of the living, a cold sweat running down his face.
         “How’d you like hell?” Dustin said, crouching down to talk to him eye to eye.
         “But for their to be a hell, their must be a heaven, and that means that…” the man started to say, still terrified from his trip.
         “That God is real, and I assure you, I’m not talking about Drake” Dustin finished, standing back up and turning his back to the crowd.
         “LEAVE” Dustin yelled, causing the room to empty except for him and Raven.
         “Sorry I scared you back there, the thought of them carrying out what they said… I lost it,” Dustin said, sitting back down on the couch.
         “I know your heart is in the right place, but even though I’ve killed my fair share of people, I still don’t like to watch people die” Raven said, sitting next to him. Dustin smiled, looking into her beautiful hazel eyes, the kindness flowing from them like a river of milk and honey.
         
                             Chapter Eight: War Against Syn, RAGE vs. Hatred
         Jesus stood before his angelic warriors, a smile upon his face.
         “Today, we will take down Syn, and the threat of another devil coming in after I make my triumphant return in one all out strike. Nevertheless, be warned, you can die in there, so please be careful. I can do what I can to heal the wounded and revive the dead, but Syn is actually a match for me, so I have to focus on taking him down. Jacob, you and your team will start out by charging their forces; I will join once Syn shows up, along with the rest of our men. Until then, stay alive. I would like to get through this without drawing Dustin in. If he enters into here, and he becomes Undying, his anger will cause him to transform into one of them. He has already learned of the drawback of his transformation. He must learn that he must use love to transform, not anger. However, I cannot teach him that, he has to learn it himself. Basically, if he goes in, he might fight against us, and anyone who’s seen him ticked off knows that won’t be good” Jesus said, facing his troops. The troops looked down onto earth, watching Dustin kill the man from the mob out of pure anger. Jesus smiled as he healed the man, then turned and held out his hands, opening a portal to the volcanic hell that was Syn’s dimension. The entire landscape was blood red, black ash floating freely through the air as magma flowed beneath the ground, visible through the cracks on the surface of the planet. Flying creatures straight from a horror movie flew through the air, their cries sounding like a women screaming in pain. Jacob stepped through the portal, and the evil in the air shot through his body with a wave of unbelievable pain. He did not even feel this when he was at the gates of hell, yet it felt like someone was driving a spike through his temple, twisting the tip inside his brain. The sensation washed over the RAGE members and their troops in a wave, like a sea of pain. Jesus blinked and the sensation left, replaced with a renewed sense of duty to end this evil for the last time. Jacob looked at the flying creatures, and noticed they were circling overhead.
         “THEY KNOW WE’RE HERE!” Jacob cried, and the ground beneath them exploded, lava bursting from the ground like a hand reaching for the sky. The army ran, hoping to escape more geysers in the area. The ground below them was bursting with liquid death now, and they ran to higher ground. They stopped at a hill, after five minutes without another explosion, it was either over or about to start again. Jacob did a head count, and all of them made it out of their in one piece. Their white robes had been completely covered in the black ash that fell like rain in this hell, but other than that, no damage had been done yet. David looked out into the horizon, and noticed it was moving.
         “I think they’re here” David said, tapping Jacob on the shoulder. Jacob looked over his shoulder, and saw the horizon moving, and immediately turned back to prepare his men to fight. Angels were drawing their weapons, and praying, even though they just had to think, they got on their knees and mimicked humans, and prayed for strength in this battle as they had seen their charges do before school, or missionaries on a plane to another country, or a regular man walking out his front door in a bad neighborhood. The demons doubled speed, as if they could sense the prayers, which they more than likely could. The massive army of demons were stopped now, their numbers still mixing with the horizon miles behind them. They could easily make out the grotesque features of these demons though. They looked like their faces had been put into a blender, then super glued back to their skulls, fingers crossed that it could pass for a living being. Their bodies were massive, and their swords were huge sharp pieces of metal, so primitive compared to their small, slender, flaming swords. Jacob kneeled down on one knee, taking aim. An angel put his arm on Jacob’s shoulder and stepped in front of the Godly army. It was Michael, full armor, his sword as long as his body, but fast enough to slice through five demons without stopping. Michael floated up in the air, and put his hands together, and a huge beam of flame shot from his hands, incinerating a row of twenty demons all the way to the horizon. Michael fell to the ground, exhausted, and Jacob grinned.
         “IT’S US OR THEM, CHARGE!” he yelled, firing into the crowd of demons that were advancing on them now. A sea of white flew from the hill, and descended onto the humongous horde of demons David leapt from a huge boulder on the side of the hill, and slammed his fists into the ground, causing the earth to collapse beneath him. The demons were engulfed by the lava below. David held out his hand, and a Bo Staff of light fizzled into his hands.
         “Since when can you do that?” Shaun asked, standing next to him firing into the wave advancing onto them.
         “Lunch” David said, a man of few words. Shaun laughed and stabbed a demon through the neck, then fired into one of it’s comrade’s faces. David swung his new staff into the air and ran through the demons, the bodies of those who got in his way flying through the air. Adam stood atop a rock, flinging orbs of light grenades into the massive numbers of demons in front of him. He leaped from his miniature mountain and grabbed the face of a demon, and shards of light exited the back of it’s skull. He swung the body around and the holy bullets sunk into more demons, the bodies piling up around him. He leaped into the air and landed on top of one of those flying creatures they saw earlier, and shoved light grenades into it’s mouth. With a grin, he shot through the wings of the creature, and rode it down, guiding it into the demons. The grenades made a beautiful explosion, and a look of worry was starting to form on the demons faces. They weren’t supposed to be this strong. Then the demons sensed something. Odious was coming, their god of hatred. He was one of the evil gods that served Syn, that got banished here along with the others, Lustonious, god of immorality, Gluttania, goddess of self indulgence, Lyairious, god of deception, Wraith, god of anger, and Vanatia, goddess of pride. They had all been banished along with Syn, and all were headed towards them with their own personal armies right behind them…

                                       Chapter Nine: The Return Of Psychosis
         Dustin looked at his hands, seeing not skin, but blood; the blood of all that he had killed out of vengeance. Did that anger still lurk in his heart? He hadn’t looked Raven in the eyes since that mob found their way down here. Maybe anger wasn’t the way to go anymore. He could control his transformation now, maybe he should transform before he gets mad, and scare any threats away? No, if Thomas ever came back, then that was blown out of the window. Maybe, instead of anger at the person he was fighting, he could fight out of love for who he was fighting for…Raven, Jesus, his friends in RAGE, the innocent people dying above him. Dustin’s hand closed into a fist upon thinking about the bodies hanging from the lampposts. He took a deep breath, and tried not to think about it. He looked over at Raven, who had understandingly left him alone to think for a minute.
         “I figured it out” Dustin said, wrapping his arm around Raven’s shoulders.
         “Do tell” Raven replied, smiling because he had figured it out after only five minutes.
         “Instead of anger, I fight out of love” Dustin said, kissing her forehead. Raven chuckled a bit and said,
         “And you’re sure you’re not getting soft on me?” Dustin backhanded her, his hand phasing through her skin. Raven still flinched. Dustin chuckled and said,
         “Only if you’re getting to be more of a chicken.” they both laughed, finally enjoying each other’s company in peace.
BOOM!
                                       Well, that lasted long…
         “I swear if it’s another angry mob I’m going to freaking kill all of em” Raven said, slightly surprising Dustin, but he wasn’t about to complain. They left the sewers and took to the streets, and tanks were everywhere.
         “Drake must be trying to keep the peace, or helping the mobs out, it’s hard to tell” Dustin said, which drew attention to Raven as guards were looking their way.
         Another amateur mistake, Dustin thought. I must be loosing my touch. A guard turned and looked to see a girl poking her head out of a manhole covering. The figure of a boy fizzled into reality in front of him, one with a weapon. The boy looked remarkably like… no it couldn’t be, he died… those were the guard’s last thoughts before Dustin phased his hand into the guards chest and crushed his heart. Raven climbed out of the manhole and made sure there weren’t anymore guards lurking about.
         “Cute, you think I’m letting you walk in this place” Dustin said as he picked Raven up into his arms. Dustin flew into the air, his wings carrying him gently through the air. They saw a fire in the center of the city, and oddly enough, it’s shape spelled a word.
         “Syn” Dustin and Raven said in unison. Dustin flew Raven up to Heaven, not caring if they had left or not, it was still safer up there. He sat her down outside Heaven’s gates, and flew back down to earth to fight Thomas again. Dustin touched down amidst the flames, the smell of smoke would have been unbearable had he not already died twice. Dustin spread his wings, and the fire around him began to disperse, and Dustin walked through the flames, searching for Thomas. He could hear thunderous footsteps, slowly approaching amongst the flames. Dustin flapped his wings, and Thomas stood before him, a crooked smile spreading across his scarred face.
         “Punishment for failing?” Dustin asked, knowing he could kill him easily.
         Thomas nodded, starring blankly into the ground at Dustin’s feet. Dustin looked down, and saw a glowing circle around his feet. Dustin looked up, and took  a step forward, except his feet couldn’t move.
         “Can you feel it? It’s feeding off of your anger, your hatred, your impurities. It’s draining you of your power, and when it’s done, I get to kill you” Thomas said, laughing maniacally. Dustin grinned, and walked out of the circle, not a drop of power lost to the circle.
         “There’s a little thing called righteous fury you should look into, and I don’t hate anymore, I just dislike immensely” Dustin said as Thomas slowly lost his confidence. Dustin slowly drew his swords, and continued walking towards Thomas, the fear slowly consuming his face.
         “Quit acting, I know this wasn’t your only ace in the hole, no decent warrior uses that the first move” Dustin said, and Thomas started cackling.
         “Am I that predictable?” he asked.
         “We learned from the best” Dustin said, forming his double blade as he walked, flames taking the place of footprints. Thomas grabbed his double blade from the ground, and transformed, his muscle mass increasing to an almost inhuman size. Dustin’s hair started to rise, and his eyes began to glow, the vengeful flame consuming his frame, his muscle mass expanding slightly. Thomas made the first move, disappearing into thin air. Dustin fizzle out of sight as well, and reappeared seconds later in mid air, swords clashing with Thomas‘s, sparks raining down towards the earth below them. They pushed off and they both disappeared again, reappearing only to repeat the process again a few yards away. Again and again they collided, until Thomas collided with a flaming replica of Dustin, with the real Dustin standing behind him, his sword at Thomas’s neck and a smile on his face. Dustin’s blade caught a bead of sweat from Thomas, and they all disappeared again. Thomas fizzled into vision again, whizzing into a nearby building, his bulky body becoming entangled in the steel he warped and twisted upon impact. Thomas flexed his muscles and broke free, and flew out of the building, only to be close lined by Dustin as he reached the exit. Thomas grinned and grabbed Dustin’s leg, and pulled him down with him, slamming him into the ground after falling thirteen stories down through the building they were in. the dust settled, and Thomas loomed over the crater he made with Dustin’s body, forming black flames in his hands. Dustin shot up from the rubble, and Thomas grabbed him by the face, the black flames engulfing his body and causing him to revert to his normal form.
         “I’ve figured out how to stop you. All I need to do is fight fire with fire, my black flames can over power yours, and you being exposed to my flames causes you to revert back to a form I can kill” Thomas said, still gripping Dustin’s head between his fingers, slowly crushing his skull. Dustin started laughing.
         “You think I can be killed again that easily?” he said, his knee connecting with Thomas’s stomach. Thomas collapsed, holding his aching abdomen, and let go of Dustin in the process.
         “Have you forgotten what Master Sink taught you so quickly? Never use your full strength unless necessary. I’ve seen the extent of your power, and I’ve yet to show you half, I DON’T EVEN HAVE TO BECOME UNDYING TO KILL YOU” Dustin yelled, kicking Thomas in the face, sending him spiraling into the wall. Dustin held his weapon up, then opened his hand, his weapon dissolving.
         “You’re not worth killing. Go back to your master and tell him of your defeat, and warn him of his at the hands of my master” Dustin said, turning and walking away, his wings covering his body like a robe of feathers, resembling the trench coat he wore before he died. Thomas was consumed with rage, his eyes glowing red with a renewed intensity.
         “I’LL KILL YOU” Thomas roared, running at Dustin. Dustin turned, and punched Thomas, but stopped short by a millimeter. Thomas stopped, then grinned, and was then thrown back by the air collapsing in on itself.
         “Pathetic” Dustin said, resuming his walk home. Thomas looked on, his humiliating defeat was unfathomable to him, then he remembered where Raven was supposed to be…

                   Dustin soared back towards heaven, glad to be rid of Thomas for the moment. he saw a black comet shooting up towards the skies a mile away from where he was.
         “Again? My gosh he’s predictable” Dustin sighed as he changed his trajectory towards Thomas. the air thundered behind him as he sped towards Thomas, only to find that it was a black flame clone, and that there were thousands rising up from the clouds.
         “YOU IDIOT, YOU THINK YOU CAN GET TO HER WITH PATHETIC MOVES LIKE THAT?” Dustin yelled, as he became undying, and tens of thousands of clones filled the skies behind him. The clouds parted, and a giant flaming replica of Thomas came barreling through, at least seventy feet tall.
         “You’re kidding me” Dustin said, tightening his grip on his weapon. He gritted his teeth and shot through the air at the giant clone. The clone laughed and swatted Dustin away, knocking Dustin down a few thousand feet. Dustin wondered if he could mimic the giant clone technique that was giving him so much trouble. He gritted his teeth and created a clone twice his size, but a midget compared to Thomas’s clone.
         “Oh well, size doesn’t always matter. A knife can beat a sword if the wielder is strong enough” Dustin said, his clone and him taking off again towards Thomas’s clone.
         “You take care of tiny, I’m going on ahead to check on Raven” Dustin yelled towards his clone as he sped past the giant flaming clone. He could see a trail of black flame reaching into the sky, and he doubled his speed, the sound barrier breaking like tissue. He passed the black comet, only to find it was another clone. Dustin slowed as he looked, then flew as fast as he could, becoming a flaming arrow shooting into space. He arrived at the gates of heaven, and Raven was gone, her cloak hanging from a dagger that was imbedded in an angel sentry‘s back. The angel wasn’t dead, but he wouldn’t be too happy when he woke up. The note was basically a rerun of the first one, except Thomas had headed back to his master, to Syn, where the others were fighting.

                                       Chapter Ten: Odious, God of Hatred
         Jacob looked out into the horizon, estimating how many demons were left. Their numbers were still too vast to count, and their numbers were beginning to thin out. Michael was still too fatigued from that blast to help, and something big was coming, several somethings…
         The angels and demons stopped fighting for a moment, looking out towards the east, right where Jacob was looking. He could smell the evil approaching, and then he saw him, Odious stood atop of a hill a mile away, his body covered from head to toe in armor. His helmet had ram’s horns spiraling into the sky, his body armor was red, with a black aura surrounding him, his weapon, a giant axe, shining in the red sun. they could feel his evil from where they stood, and knew that it would take all of them to be a match for him, and he was only the first of many evil powers to arrive.
         “Having Dustin here would really help right about now” Adam said, looking to the southwest, where Lyairious was approaching. David stepped in front of Jacob, his Bo staff in hand.
         “I’ll take on tons of fun over there, you take care of the other guy when he gets here” he said as he took off running towards Odious, his Bo staff twirling over his head. Odious slung his axe and rested it on his shoulder, waiting for David to come to him. David jumped behind him and swung his staff at Odious’s legs, only to have his staff break.
         “I’m too heavy you idiot” Odious said, his voice echoing amongst his armor. David took a step back, then jumped and kicked Odious in the side of the head, his neck never moving.
         “My turn” Odious said, grabbing David’s leg with lightning quick speed. He slammed David into the ground, then swung him over his head and threw him into a hill a few yards away. David leaped from the crater and flew up to Odious, his fist raised. Odious remained still, waiting for the sense of futility to sink into this angel’s brain. David stopped his punch a centimeter away from Odious’s face, and opened his hand. Odious began to say something, but his words were lost in the ensuing blast that shot from David’s hand. Odious’s helmet slammed into the ground, creating a miniature crater upon impact.
         “Congratulations, you’ve ticked me off” Odious said, his long black hair floating in the wind. David grinned and held out his hands, his Bo staff forming again. Odious swung his axe from his shoulders, and slowly leveled it, pointing it towards David.
         “Now you will see true power” he said. David readied himself, preparing for anything. He remembered the speed with which he grabbed him earlier, and knew this guy didn’t have a speed disadvantage with all of the armor he wore. Odious pushed off of the hill he was on, and slammed his forearm into David’s neck, causing David to spin in the air. David threw his arms out and pushed off the ground and landed back on his feet, using the momentum to follow after Odious. Odious looked back, grinning until he saw David speeding towards him. No one had survived a hit like that from him, not since the first time they fought God…
         David stretched out his arm, his hand closing into a fist as he sped through the air towards Odious. Odious stretched his arms out as well, a blue sphere surrounding him. David connected with the sphere, and blue sparks crackled around his fist as David continued to push through. Odious began laughing, and the blue sparks began to shoot down David’s arm, causing immense pain to shoot through his body. David didn’t stop pushing, he gritted his teeth and continued, the sphere giving slightly. Odious stopped laughing, and gritted his teeth as well, pouring his evil energy into the sphere to keep David out.
         “You fool, nothing pure can enter through this sphere” Odious said through his gritted teeth. David didn’t give up, he kept pushing, the sphere giving a little more, it slowly allowing his fist to get closer to Odious. Suddenly, a demon flew through the sphere and slammed into odious, making him lose focus for a second. The sphere disappeared, and David’s fist slammed into Odious’s face, but David didn’t stop pushing, he flew with Odious still on his fist, slamming him into the ground. He flew back up, and gave Shaun a thumbs up for the assistance. Odious flew out of the crater formed from his collision with the ground, thunder sounding as the air closed behind him.
         “I AM ODIOUS, GOD OF HATRED. I WON’T BE DEFEATED SO EASILY BY THE LIKES OF YOU LITTLE (expletive)!” he growled, his voice quaking through the entire dimension.
         “Are you sure you aren’t Vanatia, Odious?” Lyairious said, standing on the ground below Odious and David.
         “Lyairious, stay out of this, he’s mine” Odious said, baring his teeth at his comrade.
         “Oh I don’t want your leftovers anyway my spiteful friend” Lyairious said, pulling out two knives from inside his vest. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say Lyairious was a refined gentlemen, sporting a white collar shirt, a tan vest, and tan pants. His brown hair was slicked back, and he was perfectly clean shaven.
         “I am surprised that you are only fighting one person, you usually don’t take this long, even when fighting angels, isn’t that right Michael” Lyairious said, his gaze shifting towards Michael, who had yet to recover from the blast he fired earlier. His glow was slowly beginning to return, and should be ready to fight in ten minutes, but did RAGE have that long before they were wiped out by Syn’s henchmen?
         “I refuse to let David have all of the fun, this snob is mine” Shaun yelled as he stabbed a demon through the stomach.
         “Hmm, these angels are more impatient than the last ones we fought, oh well, they’ll just die all the quicker, won’t they?” Lyairious said, a dark smile spreading across his face. Shaun leaped from where he was fighting before, his swords handle occupying both of his hands as he screamed towards Lyairious. Lyairious held up one of his knives, and slowly brought it down again, as if slashing Shaun in slow motion. Shaun didn’t think anything of it, until white blood spewed from his shoulder.
         “I’m the god of deception, do you think I’m going to fight fair?” Lyairious said with a sinister smile.
         
                             Chapter Eleven: Reunions…
         Shaun covered his shoulder with one hand, and held out the other, as if signifying for Lyairious to stop. Lyairious chuckled slightly, but Odious could see what he was doing, the same move was performed on him. He grinned, remembering that Lyairious compared him to Vanatia earlier. An orb of light formed in Shaun’s hand, and it began to glow blue, which didn’t occur when David attacked Odious. Odious blocked David’s kick, without looking away from Shaun. These angels were five of a kind, but didn’t Syn mention one more? There was one that he had sent his pupil after, that weakling Thomas. The boy stumbled into a portal shortly after the devil began his assault on God’s followers. Syn had been trying to escape since his imprisonment, and had yet to make a portal stable enough to allow passage out, but were strong enough to let people in. Syn saw the hatred in the boy, and decided to train him as if he were a demon, to destroy what God had created, starting with his strongest warrior. He trained with Syn for four years, training at the exact same time as Dustin, and was allowed back to earth after the devil had been defeated by a Christian, which is what God’s followers were calling themselves this millennium. When he returned defeated, Syn was so furious, he punished him by tying him up and letting Odious have his fun beating him. Ever since, Syn has been plotting the imminent war with heaven, and had met up with Lyairious to discuss war tactics, such as Thomas’s diversion, then leading him to Syn, where he would surely die. Odious grinned, for he had been promised the first blow against this warrior. But he began to worry about the warriors strength, for these angels were surprisingly strong, and he was said to be ten times these five in terms of speed and strength. He would be a match for any of his fellow gods. Lyairious was still grinning, holding a knife up as he did before. Shaun grinned, and a huge wave of needles shot from his hand, speeding towards Lyairious. Lyairious continued grinning, and let the needles hit, and let them pass through his body as if he were a ghost.
         “You’re not the real one, are you?” Shaun said, still holding his shoulder.
         “Got that right, (expletive)” Lyairious said from behind Shaun, his blade in Shaun’s back. Shaun opened his mouth, silently screaming in pain, glowing white blood trickling down his mouth. Then he grinned, and the needles of light he shot came rushing back, passing through him and burying themselves into Lyairious. Lyairious stumbled back, not expecting the projectiles to return. Shaun reached behind him and pulled out the knife, and slowly slashed it downwards on Lyairious, only for nothing to happen.
         “Fool, my weapons know their master” Lyairious said, holding out his hand, the knife speeding from Shaun’s grip into Lyairious’ hand. Shaun drew his sword, and blocked the invisible slash from Lyairious, sending more needles from his hand towards Lyairious.
         “Forget someone?” a voice said from behind him. Lyairious’ double plunged his knife into Shaun’s side, twisting it and finally unsheathing it from it’s fleshly scabbard.
         “Not your day, is it?” both Lyairious’s said in unison.
         “It isn’t yours either” Shaun said, his hand glowing red. Both Lyairious’s held up their knives to block the attack, but weren’t expecting what came from Shaun’s hand. It was a clone of himself, made of red energy. Both Shauns grinned and held their swords in front of them, both pointing to a separate Lyairious.
         “Since when can you do that?” Whitney shouted as she threw one of her axes into a demons skull.
         “Just now” both Shauns said in unison.
         “I admire you, using techniques you haven’t used before, but I Assure you, dumb luck won’t defeat me, the god of deception.
         “Are you sure you aren’t Vanatia?” Wraith yelled from behind Jacob. Jacob turned and held his crossbow at Wraith’s face, an arrow already formed and ready to fire. Wraith had raging red hair, which came down to his chin. He wore a chest plate made of steel and iron shoulder coverings. He was dressed in red cloth pants, and wore a black shirt underneath his chest plate. The rest of the gods banished with Syn stood beside him, grinning sadistic smiles as they looked on as Odious toyed with David and Lyairious continued his psychological assault on Shaun. In truth, Lyairious was in a meeting with Syn right now, plotting the welcome for the final RAGE members, Raven and Dustin. Wraith wielded a flaming medieval flail, spinning it skillfully beside him. Vanatia wore an all white flowing dress, which radiated in the suns. She was actually quite beautiful, but the evil in her soul made her hideous to those who were pure hearted. She wielded a giant sword made of crystal, so she could always see herself as she fought. Gluttania wore casual clothes, and seemed like a normal woman, but truth be told, she had an incredible bloodlust, which is something she loved to indulge. She held a whip, crackling with electricity, lying on the ground next to her like an electric eel. Lustonious wore a very revealing attire, which would have made any man go mad with impure thoughts. Her Raven black hair flowed in the wind, dressed in gold and was adorned in jewels. She held a sword in each hand, but the blades curved back to cover her forearms, meaning instead of her wrists, she used her elbows for power, which a more plentiful source of pure force. All of the gods were now exploding with evil energy, as if being together strengthened them. Odious and Lyairious stopped their fight and joined their brothers and sisters, and their armies filed behind them, outnumbering the original army ten thousand to one. A smile formed on the RAGE members, knowing that continuing meant certain death.
         “Starting the fun without me?” Dustin said, slowly descending in front of Jacob. He held out his hand, his double blade forming, and a grin slowly spread on his face, picking Wraith to take on first, then millions of Dustin clones filed up behind RAGE, made for the sole purpose of crowd control.
         “I have just one question…have you seen Thomas?” Dustin said, turning his head slightly to signify he was talking to his friends behind him. Everyone looked at each other, and then Dustin sprang forward, blade raised and hair standing on end, his eyes glowing, with streaks of electricity surrounding his body, his muscle mass increasing with every second…

                             Chapter Twelve: It Begins Again…
         Dustin’s blade collided with the chain of Wraith’s flail, the flaming chain wrapping around Dustin’s sword. Dustin grinned and pulled, leaving Wraith unarmed.
         “You (expletive)” Wraith said, and with that, Dustin’s blade sliced into his neck. Wraith looked with fear at the blade in his neck, then at the black spilling from the wound. He was bleeding… this angel had made a god bleed… he must be the Demon Hunter Syn mentioned, the one who defeated his disciple with relative ease. Dustin grinned, and Wraith showed why he was the god of anger. A sphere of fire exploded around him, expanding several feet, and pushed Dustin back a few yards, landing on his feet without a sound. Dustin grinned and extended his wings, then flew back towards Wraith, who had just reclaimed his flail. Dustin swung his double blade, making a cut into the chest plate Wraith wore, which was filled in by a bead of sweat from Wraith. Wraith was actually worried about defeat for the first time since he fought against God and his angels. He created Angels to combat Syn and his demons, along with the other gods.
         “Warrior, you are the second worthy opponent I have ever fought, it will be an honor to kill you” Wraith said.
         “Funny, I haven’t even used half of my strength yet, I was just thinking how weak this Syn guy must be if you guys are considered his strongest.
         “And you are obviously lying. I live with the god of deception, you think you can bluff me?” Wraith said with a laugh.
         “Alright, you got me, I’m using three fourths of my strength” Dustin said, and this time, there was no bluffing.
         “And by the looks of it, I’d say you’re going all out… a shame really, I thought you’d be stronger” he added, rubbing salt in the wound. Wraith exploded with anger, and swung his flail at Dustin’s head with all of his might. Dustin grinned and caught the chain in mid swing, and pulled it from Wraith’s grip.
         “IMPOSSIBLE, I AM A GOD!!!” Wraith screamed as Dustin slammed the flaming spiked sphere into Wraith’s skull, killing him instantly.
         “All things are possible through Christ who strengthens me” Dustin said, dropping the rapidly extinguishing flail to the ground. David continued fighting Odious, Shaun was struggling with the now five Lyairious’, Whitney was fighting Gluttania with surprising success, Adam fought  Lustonious, while Jacob fought Vanatia. Dustin knew from watching them that the gods would die at his friends hands, and he only needed to even the odds with Shaun’s fight until he killed the real Lyairious, so he created two flaming clones to take care of some of the Lyairious’ until then. He spread his wings and rose into the sky, trying to sense Thomas in this new hell, and felt him to the west. He also sensed Syn and Lyairious in that direction, and figured that it would be a messy rescue if he came rushing in alone.
         “If you need help, I’m ready to see some more action” Michael said from behind him.
         “Alright, go get Jesus and get him to Syn, you handle Lyairious once you get there with him, and I’ll finish off Thomas and rescue Raven” Dustin said. Michael sighed and flew off towards the portal they entered through where Jesus was waiting for him. Dustin flapped his wings behind him and shot through the sky like a missile towards the grand daddy of evil, Syn. Michael reached the portal without incident, and stepped through to an armored savior, mounted on horseback and a shining sword in his hand.
         “Savior, we need…”
         “I know, consider me there”

         Dustin reached the place where Syn was meeting with Lyairious to plan his defeat, which was a monstrous floating castle. A obscure S was everywhere, the symbol of Syn Dustin assumed. He floated towards the door, and kicked it in, the twenty foot piece of steel flying across the corridor. Dustin floated in and landed on the tiled floor, his normally silent feet echoing as they gently settled onto the floor. Dustin began walking, and the white everything began to make him sick. You think a villain would go the all black or stone theme, but this guy was almost making an attempt to out white heaven.
         “Well, I can add some red soon enough” Dustin said to himself, his words echoing throughout the entire structure.
         “Cocky for a mortal, aren’t we?” Syn said, his voice echoing from his throne room which sounded like it was miles away. Dustin grinned, a single bead of sweat sliding down his face. wish Jesus would hurry up before I have to write a check I  know is going to bounce he thought as he approached the center of the castle. He arrived at a thirty foot door, and could sense that Syn was behind it, and so was Thomas. Am I seriously about to waltz into a trap and get killed, just for a girl? he thought to himself, his cold emotionless side trying to convince him to walk away and live. His newly found sarcastic yet caring side, however, was in charge of his arms, and it decided to open the door…
                              not the ending...still....