Hiruma Sousuke found himself on his knees. Looking at the Elf, Bidashal...that was his name. Hurt to think, hurt to breathe.
"...I admit, for a human you have remarkable will." Bidashal said striding forward.
Even on his knees Sousuke still could look directly into his eyes, the Crab glared menacingly.
"But this is the end, your friends are broken, your armor shattered, and you can't even stand." The elf continued.
With inhuman grace he placed the palm of his hand against Sousuke's forehead.
"Still for your courage, I will grant you a quick deat---"
The explosion that blew them apart should have killed Sousuke. As it was he flew back, landing hard against a wall. What? The painful fog around his mind throbbed.
Focus the pain will pass, let it flow around you
Words unbidden from his sensei come back, with effort her forces himself to look. What he sees mesmerizes him.
There standing on a broken leg, holding a faintly sparkling wand, Louise Francoise la Blanc de La Valliere, glared with murderous intent at the elf. Her clothes are torn, her hair partly burned off, her body shaking on adrenaline and rage.
Sousuke notes distantly that she hasn't been this attractive since she stabbed that traitor Wardes in the face.
Another more immediate part is busy calling him a pansy ass Crane and to move Fortunes Dammit! Slowly an aching body begins to respond.
Bidashal stood up, holding his side.
His spell, his defense gone? What? His eyes narrow on the strawberry blond girl pointing one of this silly wands at him.
She must have...done something...void magic?
Yes of course, that's why she never did anything earlier, she couldn't.
The Elf shook off his shock, and raised his hand, another Fire Stone in it.
"That was a mistake human"
With that another massive flame fills the room, the same one that had broken Kirche's own flame.
Louise snarls swinging her wand like a sword, and the flame shatters, cut into a thousand pieces.
The elf's eyes widen a fraction, alright that was unexpected. But no matter, he had more stones, and this girl was clearly running on fumes.
Digging into his pouch he pulls out another fire stone. Again he raises his hand, again the world burns as it should, again Louise destroys it like so much trash.
Bidashal frowns.
Well then lets see how you handle this monster
This time he withdraws two fire stones and lets the world explode. Louise whips her wand in sword motions trying desperately to cut it down to size.
She fails, and she can feel her skin cook.
Her leg gives out, and she stumbles. Louise looks up defiantly, as Bidashel lets his customary neutral face drop back in place.
"A valiant effort, but all for naught."
Louise smiles her head rolling.
"Not for nothing"
"Eh?"
That eloquent word was the last thing Bidashal said before Hiruma Sousuke drove a club of broken masonry through his skull. As the elf fell so did Sousuke, his duty done, and finally he could rest for just a...few...moments.
Louise grimaced, and ignored the pain in her own body, to drag herself inch by inch to Sousuke.
He wasn't breathing.
"No..."
The Wall did not Fall, but the Wall was never just one man, one man falls all too easily.
"No" her hands reach out to Sousuke.
Louise searches for something, anything, that could save him.
Anything that could save the strange, crazy foreigner that she had dragged into this mess.
Anything that could save the man she had come to love.
Yet there was nothing, no healing agents, no stupid busty elves with fantastic magic to save him.
Just her, alone in a burning castle with Sousuke.
Tears stream down Louise's face.
"I love you Sousuke, you can't die, you just...can't. I need you." she whispers.
Sousuke says nothing, just laying there, his body cooling even with the flames around them.
"Come on, you'll wake up now, you're too tough to die like this...you have to wake up." She says her voice warbling.
"Wake up." her voice sounds pathetic even to her.
"Please...wake up" Louise whispers.
Nothing, Louise can feel the chains around her heart wrapping tight, tight enough to shatter. She had thought the greatest pain she had ever felt was when Wardes betrayed her. Now she could only laugh at the stupidity of her past self. Whatever pain that had been...it was nothing compared to this. Nothing to this jagged emptiness in her heart.
Slowly Louise manages to push him over to face up. A part of her wants to just lay on top of him, and let the castle burn down around her. But that isn't what Sousuke would have wanted, that isn't, that isn't what he would do. And she would be damned, damned to the deepest Elven hells there were before she failed him.
The lump in her throat is forced back, Louise bends over his face, and brushes the hair off of it. She has to go soon, but she could do this much.
"Good by Sousuke...kun, that's what they call lovers in your land right? We never were, but...Brimir, I wish we had been, Brimir I wish we had been." Louise says softly.
On some distant level, she knows she's kissing a corpse and that's incredibly messed up. But the more emotional part of her is going to get one damn kiss with the man she loved. Crawling over, she kisses Sousuke's form on the lips.
Sousuke groans, in pain, as his right hand glows, and his spirit finds itself thrown back into it's body. The Contract is now Sealed and he will not escape it that easily. Burning metal flows through his veins, and he can faintly see a lightning bolt as he finds himself jerked back to the land of the living.
Louise stares at him with wide eyes.
"Sousuke-kun?" She says her voice disbelieving.
"Louise-sama" Sousuke replies.
His brain helpfully tells him to ignore the kun thing for now.
"You're alive..."
"Hai"
Sousuke has seen many strange things today. Louise clinging to his neck babbling about how she lost him, still managed to draw a gasp of surprise.
"Louise-sama, we have to go." He manages to get out.
She nods into his shirt, but makes no move to let go. Remembering at last that her leg was broken, and feeling oddly invigorated by the burning metal in his veins, Sousuke realizes he has to carry her. Slowly standing to his tired feet, he begins to walk out of the burning castle.
As they leave, Louise finally, calms down, warning him of bad paths thanks to her academic knowledge.
It's not until they get out, and they collapse onto Tabitha's dragon, that Louise allows herself to pass out.
But not before saying three simple words.
"I love you"
Looking down at his charge...Sousuke realizes he has no idea what to do about that.
Thank the Fortunes she was asleep to give him a chance to figure this out.
Even if his brain seemed to be defaulting to. 'You are on your own'
Tabitha concentrates on controlling the wind dragon...but allows a ghost of a smile.
Kirche had a good idea after all.
God knows how many times I would have proposed and voted for bad to terrible actions in various quests if more knowlegable players have not reigned me in.
