Sauron

Everyone freezes as a voice echoes through the clearing, a voice Tohru, Noah, Lexa, and I knew well. “You are a protector, the descendant of the two most powerful faeries. Lexa was a female faerie so powerful, the males plotted to make her a fallen, in order to become the most powerful again. As you see, they succeeded. Fallen angels lose their memories. However, she was still powerful enough to regain them over time. If a fallen angel meets the criteria for entering Akihabara when they die, they become lost spirits. Lost spirits have no physical presence. A lost spirit’s job is to guide and train the remaining faeries. Lost spirits, again, lose their memories-with the exception of knowledge needed to teach other faeries‒and again, her power protected her. However, a lost spirit's power relies on the need of those in Akihabara, or in her case, down here in Xander’s heart. No one needed her, so she lay slumbering, unseen, unfelt, unknown. Eventually, her memories left her as the faeries eventually forgot her, and her slumber claimed the memories that remained. Had Noah not shown up, she may have faded completely. His power is allowing her memories to return. Xander’s recollection of events for Alex sped it up, with dire consequences.”

I shiver, remembering the intense pain and the trauma that came with it. “Next time, it will not be so bad. That was the worst memory, and the mental pain was from the barrier in her memory breaking.”

“Who are you? Why do I know these things, and why can we do the things we can?”

“I am Sauron*.”

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*Pronounced S-ow-rone, like in the Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit.

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Everyone but Lexa and I pale. “I see you aren’t scared…so it is time to tell you. I have been monitoring you as a potential candidate to be my Eye. The Eye carries out my wishes, and in return, the entirety of my knowledge and power is left at their disposal. I may be seen as evil, and some of my wishes qualify as evil. Being what you are, these wishes may lead you to become fallen, so you have no obligation to carry them out. I know that you are the Chosen Ones.”

I blanch. “Ch-Ch-Chosen Ones?”

Inside my head, Noah is impassive. Lexa steps forward. “What do you mean?”

“The Chosen Ones fated to save Akihabara, and the world. There are dark times ahead. This power is yours to accept, for all it brings. Just know that destiny will happen whether you accept or not, but with it you can better keep it at bay.”

“What are the effects?”

“You will gain my knowledge and power. Lexa’s power of insight will grow and become clearer. You will gain a few allies. If you confront a demon who would dare to raise a hand to you, announce that you are my Eye. Some demons are loyal to me and will start to either ignore your presence, aid you in your endeavor, or give you advice and supplies. There are those loyal to themselves, so the reactions will vary. Xander’s boss is one of them. Then, there are those who will remain hostile or become more so, having become opposed to me. There are those who will seek you in the human world, and try to take the power by force. They won’t succeed, but they will make you miserable. There are substances that can suppress my power. Others will come to you with problems. Whether you help is up to you, as well as how.”

I step forward and kneel. Lexa walks to me and does the same. Noah speaks with me, our voices layering. Lexa and I speak. “We three accept your great and terrible power, with full knowledge of the risks and consequences.”

“Then it is done.”

I feel his presence dissipate.“I don’t feel different…”

“You wouldn’t…”

I blush and grab my neck. “Oh, right…”

Guess she was right about me being a fusion…explains my tomboyish tendencies…like now. Grabbing your neck when embarrassed is a boy thing…but it’ll help pull off being Noah, so…

Xander hesitantly reaches to touch Lexa. “Touching her isn't going to hurt you, Xander…”

They hug. I smile. “You show him, Mom!”

Everyone except Xander and Lexa gasps.

“I thought you didn’t want to think about that…”

“You may be my mother, but you’re also my sister, Nee-Sama. And I will treat you like my sister. In this life, you are my sister, and that’s what matters to me. I just wanted to drop a bombshell, that’s all.”

“My, what a lovely reunion.”

I turn to see a devilishly handsome man with a scar across his eye. “Ah, I see you’ve been reunited with Lexa…Too bad you’re scheduled to die, Xander!”

“Noooo!”

I charge. Xander tries to stop me. “Alex, no!”

Strength floods through me. I zoom toward him. I try to punch, but he grabs my arm and judo flips me over his shoulder. I cry out as I slam into the ground, blood flying from my mouth, tail bending the wrong way. Lexa looks shocked. He turns back to them. “Xander, who is this asshole?”

He turns, slams his foot down into my stomach, making me cough out more blood, then turns back.

“This is Lucifer…my boss. But my friends are more important, and I will give my life to protect you, as you have protected me.”

My boss.

I blanch. This is the asshole who threatens children and gropes women?!

He prepares some sort of magic. Blood runs from the corner of my mouth. Calling on the little strength I have, I rock back, slamming my foot into his crotch, and he doubles over. I slowly sit up and shakily climb to my feet. “No one tries to kill my friends…and gets away with it.”

As I prepare to punch him, he disappears. “Where’d…?”

I step forward and he appears behind me, a katana pressed against my throat, blade held in place by his other hand. I back into him, and he moves the sword with me. My eyes widen. I whimper, looking at the blade against my throat. I start shaking and hyperventilating, tears streaming down my face, blood leaking from the corner of my mouth. I lean against him to pull myself back, away from the sword. Thankfully, he doesn’t bring it closer, but it’s still against my throat. If I die here, I’m dead…permanently.

Carefully, I say, “Sorry I attacked you…could you please maybe put the sword down? I’d like to have been alive a lot longer than a few hours.”

Then I look at everyone else. They’re all just as scared as me. Tohru blanches. “He took down Alex, just like that?!”

I’ve had my chance…I was never properly alive in the first place…live your life, Lexa. You’ve earned it.

Wait…Alex what are you-?!

“Take me! Do what you want to me, but please, don’t hurt my friends!”

The sword cuts me a little when I speak. Blood wells up along the blade, but I’m not going to die…yet. “Are you sure about this?”

I look at them all. Xander, Tohru, Lexa, Chocola. Noah, if I die, the body is yours, but share, okay?

Got it.

I nod, cutting myself more. Blood trickles down my throat. I realize I need to cough. No, god please no!

I cough. It’s just a tiny little cough, but it’s enough. The sword cuts through, just above my larynx. Terror floods through me. I channel telekinetic power, squeezing his throat, just slightly. The sword moves away just a fraction of an inch, and I scream. A loud, spine-chilling, bloodcurdling, primal, terrified-16-year-old-girl scream. My terror turns to anger, and my vision becomes tinged with red. He rises off the ground. I use my power to hold the blood in and turn to look at him, my face a mask of rage. His eyes widen and he starts struggling, but it has no effect. Black and white lightning crackles along my body, and my hair floats up and spreads out behind me. I squeeze harder with my powers and start floating. “Oh, no…”

He starts gagging. He’s turning blue. Lexa speaks. “Alex, stop!”

I turn to look at her. She backs away, terrified of what she sees. Red eyes…that’s not good. I need to calm her down…NOW! If it gets any worse, she’ll destroy everything in a two-mile radius.

Tears well up in her eyes. “This isn’t you! I know that you don’t really want to kill him!”

He’s purple now. I loosen the pressure, just a little. He starts regressing, slowly regaining color. She inches forward. Her voice gets shakier as she speaks. Tears stream down her face. “If it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t have ever met me or Xander! You're better than him!”

Chocola joins in.“Alex...please put him down!”

I let go. He drops to the ground and runs. “I’ll be back to make good on that promise!”

Lexa walks over to me. I float down to the ground again. “Alex…please, calm down! He’s gone.”

I just stare at her, still crackling, eyes still red. Her voice is breaking, punctuated with sobs. “Come back to us, Alex.”

I stop crackling and my hair falls. “If you won’t do it for them, do it for me. P-p-please…Onee-Chama.”

My vision clears, eyes fading back to a deep, dark chocolate brown. I try to remember what just happened, but come up blank. My power leaves me. Blood starts flowing again. “Nee…Sama…”

I reach for her, then crumple to the ground as my strength flees, coughing blood. “Sis!”

She drops to her knees and cradles my head in her lap. I stop coughing. She takes the bottom of her shirt and wipes the blood from my face, tears streaming in a torrent down hers. I cough. I look at Choco. “Take care of Lexa for me. After all, without you, she would’ve faded away.”

She blinks back tears. “I…I will…for you.”

I cough again. My eyes unfocus. In a weak voice, I ask, “I’m tired…D-d-did I d-do a g-g-good j-job, Nee-Sama?”

“Yes, you did. I’m proud of you, Nee-Chama. Rest now. You’ve earned a little time to relax.”

“Thank…you…”

I smile as the world fades to black.[3:23]

[3:25][Lexa] I gaze into Alex’s eyes as she takes one last breath, closes her eyes, then is still. A single drop of blood runs from the corner of her mouth. They start crying. A tear falls from my face onto her cheek, and I detect a little movement. “Shhhhh! I don’t think she’s dead.”

They stop sobbing, but tears still flow freely. I take her pulse. It’s very slow and very, very faint. I feel her take a breath. “I think…she’s just deeply asleep…really deeply asleep, on the edge of being practically comatose. I don’t know if she did this, Noah did this, or if Sauron did this to save her…but she’s alive…barely. She just needs to sleep so she can heal.”

“Won’t the spell keeping you here fade?”

“Thanks for worrying about me, but she’s stronger than I ever was. Even in this state, the spell is strong.”

I lick my finger and place it at one edge of the cut on her throat. My finger sinks in. My heart sinks. “This is deep…”

I draw my finger across the cut, slowly. Tohru interjects. “Ew…is that sanitary?”

“Shh…says the dragon that can clean clothes by using her mouth as a washing machine.”

Chocola laughs. “She’s got you there…That’s her way of healing. Much less subtle than Alex’s, but it also takes less energy, and may even be faster. She focused a lot of time and effort on healing research and spells. Her inner angel, combined with her magical strength, make her an ideal healer. I asked her why she didn’t work in the infirmary, and she said that the kiddos needed her. The kid Noah chose…that was her last job…you know the rest. She used forbidden magic to try to help…and was expelled, cast down from Akihabara, becoming a fallen.”

It's Xander's turn to blanch. “You knew her!?”

“Shhhh! If she wakes up, she might die. What I did doesn’t work on injuries past the bottom layer of skin. Sometimes, if I concentrate, maybe a tendon. I’m trying to close the cut in her esophagus. Her pulse is very faint, greatly slowing the speed of blood loss.”

I lick my blood-soaked finger and draw it across the wound again. I do this three more times. The wound seals. Her pulse strengthens, just slightly. Her chest rises more when she breathes. “She’s still out of it, but she’s breathing more, and her pulse is stronger, so I must’ve done something right. We should probably leave.”

“Lexa, you’re flickering…”

“Do you have the strength to get there?”

“She’s calling back my spirit, but she’s giving as much magical energy as she can without tapping her life force. I’m confu-”

Noah appears. Tohru nearly falls over. “She wants to know if you intend to stay in that body. Being made of pure angelic power, it enhances your power.”

“She doesn't have anything left…”

“She knows…she’s asking so she can give me permission to expend my energy to help. It will leave me almost as exhausted as her, but not comatose.”

“Yes. But how is she, before you go?”

“Some internal bruising. Her accelerated healing is working overtime. When my energy runs out, you’ll be called back, but the body will assume your form, and you’ll be in control.”

“How much pain is she in?”

“A lot, but being half-angel, half-demon, she’s pretty tough.”

He places his hand on my head. “Thank you.”

He disappears, and I stop flickering. I look up at the dense canopy. “Since when are forests this thick?”

“It’s not a normal forest, and technically, this is more like an alternate dimension. The treeline is the ‘gate.’”

“Sounds more like a Shadowrealm…a world of darkness.”

“Many demons cannot survive direct sunlight.”

“A demon invaded one of Noah’s memories during a recollection.”

“Memories are in the mind, and therefore, it is not real sunlight. And even as powerful as she is, there is still a long way to go before you can time travel.”

“It wasn’t time travel…he took Tohru into his mentalscape and watched in third-person.”

“Full-body recollection spell.”

I flicker. “Can you get us out of here?”

“Yes, but I cannot stay around. Now that Lexa is no longer fallen, her wings may very well kill me, even in the shadow of the trees.”

Carefully, I sit Alex up and lay her head on my shoulder, facing me. I place her arms around my neck, and slowly stand up. This won’t work.

I scoop her up, arms still around my neck. She snuggles. If I blink out midflight, we’ll both die, but that’s a risk I need to take.

Xander leads us into the sunlight and leaves. I shrug my shoulders, loosening up. “I don’t think so. Your wings will consume more of your energy. You should sleep. It may help.”

Tohru turns into a dragon, and I climb on, carrying Alex. Uhnnn…please hurry! Walking on my tail is going to quickly put me out of commission.

“Sorry.”

I sit, straddling her, at the base of her neck. “If I fall asleep, I’ll fall off…”

Chocola skillfully scales Tohru’s side, sitting behind me. I adjust Alex so she’s straddling me, back against Tohru’s neck. I lay down, head on her chest, arms only going halfway around Tohru's neck. Chocola scoots up, ready to catch me if I start to slip. Tohru takes off, and I close my eyes. [4:01]