Chapter Fifteen
Laxus waited for a moment. Suddenly, everything around him changed, and he was standing on a red platform in a darkly lit room. “I sorta expected something a little more…theatrical” He said.
Tabitha nodded. “Whatever. Let’s follow this path and see where it goes.” She said.
Laxus shrugged, and they headed down the path. At the end of the path, a tall man in light grey armor was waiting. “So, you are to be my champions in Hell’s Gate?” The man asked.
Laxus made a dismissing sound. “Depends. Who are you?” He asked.
The man grinned, but the warmth never reached his eyes. “Why, I am Charles Davidson. But, you may refer to me as the Second Regiment Commander.” He said.
“So, you are the bastard that brought us to this hellhole?” Tabitha asked.
Charles looked hurt.
“Why, that was quite mean! I’ll have you know, this is a wonderful world!” He said.
Laxus shook his head. “You made it, so of course you would say that!”
Charles scoffed. “What fool told you that piece of information?” He asked
Laxus flapped his mouth soundlessly. “You mean you didn’t make this?” He asked.
Charles chuckled. “What mortal could ever make a world? No, I simply travel between them.” He said.
“So how come everyone says you made it?” Laxus asked.
“It doesn’t hurt to make people believe you are more than what you are.” He said.
“So you’re just a normal mortal who can travel between planes?” Tabitha asked.
Charles nodded. “Quite so. Now, follow me to your quarters.” He said.
Laxus made to follow him, but Tabitha didn’t move. “So, if you were to be stabbed, what would happen?” She asked.
“Well, the king of this world wouldn’t be too happy. There is no such thing as ‘Hell’s Gate’. This is just a dreary part of Lumia, the world I took you to.”
Tabitha grinned. “Who cares about that?” She asked.
“What are you talking-“ Charles stopped speaking as a dagger buried itself right in between his shoulders, slightly to the left. A direct shot to the heart.
He staggered backwards, his mouth flapping uselessly. He fell to his knees, and rolled off of the pathway. Laxus stared at Tabitha open mouthed. “Remind me to never get on your bad side.” He said.
Tabitha shrugged, and pulled her dagger from Charles’ body. She wiped it clean on his cloak, and got back onto the pathway. “Shall we continue?” She asked nonchalantly.
Laxus shuddered, and nodded. When they reached the end of the pathway, they found a man waiting for them. “Where is Charles?” He asked.
Tabitha shrugged. “Where is our room?” She asked.
The man looked suspiciously at her, but led them to a room. “This will be your staying for your next battle or two at Hell’s Gate.” He said.
“Battle or two? Aren’t there more?” Laxus asked.
The man chuckled. “You won’t make it past your first battle.” He said.
Laxus shrugged and slammed the door in his face. He turned around and looked around the room. It had a bunk bed and was rather plain. It had hangers for weapons and armor. “I call top bunk” He said.
He pulled off his scabbard and hung it on the wall. Tabitha drew her dagger from its sheathe, but left it under her pillow.
They both lay down, and quickly fell asleep.
They were woken by someone knocking on their doors. Laxus rolled out of bed and put his scabbard onto his belt. He opened the door slightly. “What do you want?” He asked.
The man outside grinned. “It’s time for your first match.” He said.
Laxus nodded, and turned to Tabitha. “Wake up, you lazy seal. We have our first match now.” He said.
Tabitha rolled out of bed and grabbed the dagger from under her pillow. She sheathed it, and walked over to Laxus. “Ok, lets go.” She said.
They followed the man to a darkly lit arena. Behind a gate, there were two glowing green eyes. Laxus shuddered. “What in the seven hells is behind that gate?” He asked.
The man grinned darkly. “That is a special breed of chimera. It has a special liking for human warriors.” He said.
“Yeah? Well, I have a good taste for fried snake meat.” Laxus replied.
The grin faded from the man’s face. “We will see about that.”
He headed out of the arena. Laxus and Tabitha both drew their weapons and crouched into a fighting stance.
After a moment, the large gate rumbled, and began to rise. Slowly, the chimera entered the arena from behind the gate. It slowly looked over the arena, and its gaze settled on Laxus and Tabitha. It bared its teeth, and inhaled sharply.
“Hey, Laxus. Don’t chimeras breathe fire?” Tabitha asked.
Laxus nodded. “Yes, don’t let it barbeque you.” He said.
“Right.” She said.
They both split up, and ran in opposite directions. Laxus began whipping Serpent in circles over his head. When it was moving fast enough, He flicked the hilt, and the black blades launched forward, and stabbed into the chimera’s shadow. There was a sound much like what you hear when you tear cloth in half.
Laxus flicked the blade back towards himself, and took the monster’s shadow with it. The blades snapped back into place, and the shadow stayed stuck on the hilt. The blade shook quickly, and made a slurping noise. The sword lit up a dull orange. Laxus looked at the sword in surprise. “What did I just do?” He asked himself.
Hesitantly, he flicked the red black sword at the chimera. When it reached its full extent, a blast of flame shot out of it, and the goat’s head on fire. The thing screeched, and fell to one side.
Laxus raised his eyebrows. “That was amusing.” He said.
He glanced at his sword, which was now black again. “Tabitha, you finish this oaf off.” He said.
Tabitha nodded.
She drew her hand back, and threw her enchanted blade. It slashed through the chimera’s first head, the lion. Missing both heads, the chimera collapsed to the floor, dead.
A stunned silence ran through the audience. After a moment, quiet murmurs sprung up. “All right, silence! Team Two Symphonies has defeated the chimera in an astounding seven seconds! Somehow, I feel that we can’t go through all the tests on them. Shall we bring in the centipede?” an announcer blared.
After a scream of agreement from the audience, the announcer raised a hand to silence them. He said something to a man on his right, and the gates closed. There were several clacks, like somebody dropped a sack of rocks.
The gates raised once more, and a massive centipede came out. Laxus chuckled nervously. “Think this one has any magic fire I can steal from it?” He asked.
Tabitha shook her head. “Doubt it. And, look at it’s armor. It is much too armored for fire or acid to effect it. We will have to chip away at one link in the armor.” She said.
“How about the one slightly behind its head?” Laxus asked.
Tabitha nodded. “Ok. You hit it first so I am sure, then keep chipping away at it.”
Laxus flicked his sword at the centipede, and the black blades flashed out. There was a sound of metal screeching against metal, and his blades bounced off. He growled.
Serpent slashed into the centipede’s shadow, and it reared back in pain. But, slowly, the shadow knitted itself back together, and became completely whole again.
“Well, that didn’t work.” Laxus muttered.
He began spinning the blade around him. When he had become a whirlwind of blades, he leaned towards the centipede. The blade, spinning like a vortex, lanced from the hilt and slammed into the centipede’s back. There were several sparks and a screech from the Centipede.
When the blades stopped spinning, Laxus pulled them back to the hilt. There was a miniscule dent on the centipede’s side.
Tabitha saw Laxus’s failed efforts, and began waving her dagger back and forth. “Laxus, hold it o
ff for a little longer!” She called to him.
He muttered something inaudible, and slashed at the centipede’s face.
The centipede charged him faster than any insect should be able to move, and Laxus barely rolled out of the way.
As he rolled, he flipped the blades around, and slit of one of the centipedes legs. The centipede screeched in agony, and ran at him again.
Laxus dived under it, and dragged his blade across the centipede’s underbelly.
The centipede staggered, and collapsed on Laxus. “Blast it! This stupid thing spells like compost! Tabitha, get this pile of legs off of me!” He roared.
Tabitha stifled a laugh, and finished the long incantation. A small beam of light formed, and launched at the centipede’s face. When it hit, it began to burn into the centipede. After a minute, it cut through its armor, and the whole thing went up in flames.
“Hey what the heck?” Laxus called from under it.
There were to flashes of black blades, and Laxus climbed out of the burning insect. His shirt was nearly singed off, and his hair was smoldering. Laxus wiped a bit of burnt centipede off of him, and snapped of one of its legs. He took a bite out of it, and grinned.
“Hey, this isn’t too bad!” He called.
He tossed a leg to Tabitha. She hesitantly took a bite from it. “You’re right!” They both began devouring the centipede.
The audience began to laugh. It was an entire ten minutes before the announcer could shut them up. “Two Symphonies, you have just beaten the great Centipede, who has had over one hundred wins in a row.” He called.
“Just send in the next pour soul!” Laxus called to the announcer.
There was a pause, and the gate closed again. When it opened again, a tall warrior came out. He was clothed in chain mail, and had two sabers. When the crowd saw him, they let out a small gasp. “This is Daedalus, of the Dark elves.” He called.
“He serves under the master of the house Gryphon!” He called.
Laxus shrugged. “And why should I care?” He asked.
The audience grew silent. “Because Gryphon house rules these lands. If you know what is best for you, you had best die well.” The announcer called.
“Begin!”
Laxus flashed his bladed at Daedalus, and it coiled around him. The dark elf crossed his swords, and slammed the chain of blades to the ground. He cut the air with one of his blades, and a ripple of air shot towards Laxus. Instinctively, Laxus ducked, and the blade of air slashed into an arena wall.
Laxus looked at it, amused. “Good thing I still listen to my gut.” He said.
Tabitha threw a blade of light out of her dagger. It hit Daedalus on the back, but he just brushed it off.
The dark elf began advancing towards Laxus. Laxus began to spin his weapon in circles. At the same time, they both broke into a run. Laxus turned into a tornado of black blades, and the other dragging his blades behind him.
When they met, There was a massive explosion. Shrapnel rained everywhere, and there was a massive crater in the arena floor.
Laxus was imbedded in a wall, and Daedalus wasn’t moving. Laxus pulled himself out of the wall, and fell to his knees.
Laxus pulled himself up using his blade as a crutch, and staggered towards Daedalus. The dark elf twitched, and sat up. He looked at Laxus staggering towards him, and smirked.
He easily stood up, and grabbed his swords. He gave Laxus a salute with one, and slammed the hilt of the other into Laxus’s forehead. Laxus fell to his knees, and dropped his sword.
With a respectful nod, Daedalus turned to Tabitha. He slashed at her with both swords, and she barely dodged the blast.
Daedalus sprinted towards her, and brought his sword up to stab her.
Tabitha formed a shield of light, and threw it at him. When he crossed his blades to block it, she threw her dagger at him. It cut into his chainmail, and passed through one of his shoulders.
He staggered, and dropped one of his swords. He growled, and lurched forward. He slammed the flat of his blade onto the side of her head, and she dropped like a rock.
He raised his blade to finish her, and brought it down.
Laxus watched the blade arc down in slow motion. Suddenly, everything stopped.
He dragged himself into a sitting position. His shadow stood next to him, smiling down. “Not a bad fight, Laxus.” It said.
“What are you doing here?” He asked.
“These are your final moments. I am allowed to speak to you.” It responded.
Laxus shook his head sadly. “Can you save Tabitha?” He asked.
The shadow grinned. “No, but you can.” He said.
Laxus frowned. “How? I will do anything!”
“You have to bond with your weapon, completely.” It said.
Laxus thought for a moment. “The catch?” He asked.
“I can’t help you anymore.” The shadow said.
Laxus nodded slowly. “I’ve been thinking. The weapon’s hilt isn’t like a sword. It is a little long, like a broad sword, but the blades aren’t thick enough. The blades are bound together like a sharp chain. Is the Serpent a mace?” He asked.
The shadow grinned. “Not bad. It is a type of mace, called a flail. It has several parts. The One himself tore it apart and scattered it’s pieces. To bond with the Rainbow Flail, you must accept that you have to eventually find every piece of it.” The shadow said.
“I’ll do it.” Laxus said.
“Very well. Pick up your weapon, and promise it that you will help rebuild it.” It said.
Laxus dragged himself to where the Rainbow Flail was. He wrapped his fingers around the weapon, and spoke the promise. The flail began to shake in his hand. Suddenly, there was a scorching pain in his right hand.
The pain ebbed, and slowly ebbed to a throbbing annoyance. Laxus looked at his hand. There was a picture of a massive flail, with many different colored chains and attachments for them coming out of it.
Laxus felt power come into him, and the Rainbow Flail hesitantly trying to get into his mind. “You save Tabitha, and I will fix you.” Laxus said to the flail, and released control of his body.
As the blade fell towards Tabitha, a blade launched from where Laxus had been, and knocked the blade off course. Daedalus looked to where the chain had come from, and took a step back. “What are you?” He cried.
They were the last words that Daedalus the dark elf ever spoke before a chain swept from the darkness, and cut through him.
Laxus dragged himself towards Tabitha. She stirred slightly, and pushed herself upright. “What happened?” She muttered.
She saw Daedalus’s dead body, and shuddered. “Laxus?” She asked.
She saw him dragging himself towards her, and ran to him. She caught him right as he toppled over. She put her head near his heart. She waited a moment, and heard a heartbeat. She breathed a sigh of relief.
She looked up at the announcer. “I believe we can rest now?” She asked.
She took the silence as confirmation, and carried Laxus back to their room.