by Max Jager
"Shut-up Firius! I don't care whether I live or die anymore! You think I really care what happens to me now! I want you! I don't care if he sends us both to Hell! This ends here!"
Meanwhile, Aurela was heading right for the entrance. As if Korzen wasn't even there blocking it. Korzen saw her coming too. He stared at her as she approached. He then looked back at Alerius. "What is she, retarded? Doesn't she see me standing right here?"
Aurela was now one step away from the platform. Korzen quickly swung his gun right up to her head. "Hold it sweetheart! You aren't going anywhere! You want in there? You're going to have to go through me!"
Aurela looked at Korzen with these stern eyes. Her skin was glowing a bright white. Almost as if she had light underneath it. Both Korzen and Alerius were stunned at her. Korzen lowered his gun just a bit a little intimidated. Alerius was dumbfounded by the whole affair.
Aurela gave Korzen a sly and evil grin. Korzen retracted his neck back in shock. In a scary and firm tone of voice she said, "Fair enough."
Suddenly, she threw her arm out and Korzen was swung off to the side of the platform and landed hard on it. He crash landed and took two tumbles. Just before about rolling off the edge. He laid in a heap on the edge and was in pain. Aurela meanwhile, calmly walked into The Pyramid and Alerius was frozen with surprise. He flashed his eyes at least five time each at Aurela and Korzen.
Korzen coughed a little bit but regained his senses fast. He did a nip-up and ran right toward the entrance. He aimed his gun right for Aurela's back but Alerius reacted fast and yelled out, "No!"
Korzen spun around with his revolver still in hand.
Alerius retracted back way but then said, "You want me! Remember?" Korzen grinned. "Yes. Yes I do." Korzen then grabbed his arm with the shotgun. He stretched it back and drove his knee right into Firius's spine.
Korzen swung around with Alerius still planted. He whipped his torso forward and Alerius went rolling down a few steps. Alerius's shotgun and Korzen's revolver went further. They tumbled right down the steps to the bottom edge of The Pyramid.
Inside The Viseus Pyramid, Aurela was greeted by a huge chamber with murals all around it. The murals were depictions of angels against demons. All sorts of angelic conflict against an abundance of demonic hordes.
Huge columns stood in front of them around a big ground plate. It was an alter of celestial combat. Aurela walked right onto the plate in the middle of The Pyramid. On the plate was a huge hand etched in gold. In the middle of the palm was a place for Aurela's feet and probably every other Leyline that had made it this far. Aurela put her feet right in the grooves. She looked up to the top of The Pyramid and could see outside. She could see right up into the sky as Flaming's mouth began to open wide. Aurela knew she didn't have much time.
Outside the entrance, Alerius was back up on his feet and staring at The Yellow Korzen. He walked up the few steps he had fallen down and stood toe-to-toe with the hellion rogue. He then went for a punch and Korzen grabbed his fist. He then threw Alerius right into the side of The Pyramid like a rag doll! Alerius fell to the platform in pain. He was hurt badly and the arm with the bullet in it really wasn't helping him.
Korzen bent down and snatched at the holsters for the Scorpions. He tore the combo right off Alerius and threw it inside The Pyramid not even looking at it as the two guns and ammo tumbled and slid in the alter. Korzen then picked Alerius up by his back and hoisted him into the air. He then drove Alerius's spine right into his knee. He then flipped him down on his face. Korzen was handling him like a kid playing with a pillow. Throwing him around like a toy.
Alerius was face down on the platform. He began to crawl towards some unknown objective but Korzen wasn't about to let him get there. Korzen picked him up by his hair and turned Alerius around to face him. He then sent one strong fist right into his face and then threw him to the other side of The Pyramid. Alerius about went off the edge but managed to hang on by the whim of his remaining strength.
He pulled himself back up onto the platform and stood wobbly in front of Korzen. He went for a kick but Korzen grabbed his leg and slammed his elbow down onto Alerius's knee cap. With the same arm, Korzen then twisted it just a bit and sent his back fist right into Alerius's face. He went flying back and slammed onto the ground almost bouncing as he hit.
Korzen grabbed Alerius by the collar of his shirt with ferocity and hauled him up into the air. Alerius's feet were off the ground and was suspended in the air by Korzen's strength. Korzen then let go fast and in just the same quickness, sent both of his fists straight into Alerius's chest. Alerius flew back onto his face from the impact and landed hard on the ground again.
The hellion rogue grabbed Alerius by the back of his shirt and bent him backwards. He then sent a knife-edge chop right into the base of his throat and almost in the same fluid motion; slammed Alerius's head right back into the platform.
Alerius rolled over in pain. He was staring up at the sky as Flaming's mouth was wide open. Earthquakes began to rock the planet and red lighting danced across the sky. The ground filled with cracks as the hounds' home world began to come apart at the seams.
Korzen grabbed Alerius by the throat and hoisted him into the air by one hand. Alerius's feet again were off the ground and dangling above the platform level with Korzen's stomach. Alerius struggled for air but Korzen was killing him quickly. Soon he would be dead from the lack of oxygen.
Meanwhile, Aurela was in The Pyramid. She was now beginning a full transformation! The hand on the plate now not only was gold but began to glow with a golden light. The light began to rise from the hand and began to encircle Aurela dancing about her like fireworks. It rose up right to the ceiling and the golden light was all about her. Aurela levitated off the hand and floated up about five feet off the ground. She had her arms extended and her eyes shut. Her skin was now a pure white glow. The bluish tint that once had filled her skin was now completely gone. She was full of power and her skin was now a pure luminescent white. He hair was no longer purple like it had been before. Now it was almost a white gold and was blowing from the power surging inside of her.
She suddenly opened her eyes and they were pure light. The golden light around her exploded out and filled the entire room. Inside, Aurela was being filled with power. She suddenly threw both of her hands up at the hole in the roof. The golden light around her imploded into Aurela's hand's and focused itself into a ball of golden light.
Aurela then threw her hands out forward and the light blasted through the hole in the roof and went right up into the sky like a glowing rocket leaving a column of light behind it. It blasted right through what was left of the clouds and right up into space.
Korzen and Alerius were outside. Alerius was about to die from the crushing grip that Korzen had on his throat until the beam of light blasted out of the top of The Pyramid. Korzen threw Alerius to the side and watched in a shocked fear at the golden beam of energy emanated from the top of The Pyramid. Alerius was choking for air and he too was transfixed on the pillar of power that extended into outer space.
The red tint disappeared from the sky and the entire planet brightened up from the golden light that filled the sky. The red lighting seemed to imploded on itself at it seemed to strike the column of energy. The cracks in the crust disappeared from the ground and the golden light filled the sky. It was truly a sight to behold!
In space, Flaming was ready to gulp the planet down. He had his mouth wide open ready to engulf the world. Suddenly, the beam of golden light blasted out of the planet as if the planet itself had launched an attack at the mammoth demon! It hit Flaming right inside his mouth and he was driven back! Flaming struggled against the beam of light but it was no use. It drove back the last Oadin into outer space and the fiery face was filled with golden light. A monstrous scream escaped its mouth as it was beginning to die.
The fire on it was strangled out by beams of smaller golden light and the face on the meteorite itself began to crack and fall apart
. Beams of light began to explode out of the face and extended far out into space.
Flaming yelled out in agony as its time had come. Golden bolts of lighting surged all over it and it yelled out again in pain and fear. It suddenly turned away from planet Hogarth as the major beam of golden light still protruded from the world. Flaming then blasted off from the beam into the far reaches of space with its vanguard close behind. It wasn't dead! It was close though. It was dying. It was escaping to one of the hellion's base worlds to recuperate. The closest one was the one it had set out from in the first place, Wrath Burn.
Back in The Pyramid, the light retracted back into the building and suddenly everything went back to normal. Aurela fell to the ground and laid unconscious on the golden hand. The Viseus Pyramid was back to normal. Aurela had changed though, forever. Her skin had changed back to a blue hue but it was now a much lighter blue. A powder blue. Less like a sky and more like a piece of ice. Her hair still hade that golden glow to it and would always be that shade.
Outside, Korzen and Alerius had watched the whole thing happen. Korzen jumped clear off the platform onto the ground below and ran towards his ship which was parked about twenty feet from The Pyramid.
He got inside and yelled at Soren, "Get the hell out of here!"
The soldier looked at him with a very calm look, "Where to now?" His voice was extremely monotone.
Korzen grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "Anywhere, you idiot!"
Soren shrugged and started the ship. He then blasted off into space.
Meanwhile, Alerius slowly walked into The Pyramid. He was totally ignoring the war that was going on at the edge of The Pyramid. Hounds against hellions. A force of at least two hundred hounds had shown up. They were locked in a death struggle outside. Rock had ordered the attack as soon as the golden beam had gone back inside The Pyramid. The general had seen the ground forces absolutely stunned by the awesome sight. It was the perfect time to attack.
Inside, Alerius saw Aurela unconscious on the plate. He raced over to her as fast he could. (Which wasn't very fast from the horrible beating he had taken.) Alerius hobbled along as he quickly noticed Aurela; her entire appearance had changed. When he got close enough to touch her, he dropped to his knees drained of energy.
He leaned at her side and picked her up. He held her head gently in his arms and wondered if she was ever going to wake up. He looked her over and began to speak to her. "Come on Aurela, wake up! Wake up! Aurela please! I…"
He stopped himself. He wanted to confess his love for her. He wanted her to wake up. He thought about the repercussions if she heard him. At this point, he really didn't care! All of that hate for his feelings toward her had vanished! He finished. "I love you Aurela!" He bent down and kissed her on her forehead.
He had finally confessed his love for her. She wasn't awake but he had finally confessed his love for her to himself. She hadn't heard him and he was both sad and happy about that. He was finally getting use to the idea that he did love her. He figured that it was useless to fight it anymore.
He hoped that she wasn't dead. He hoped to God that she wasn't dead! He did love her and it was no longer about the mission! He couldn't fight his feelings for her anymore no matter how much he didn't want to given in to his emotions. It was tearing him apart inside and had almost gotten them killed and the mission almost didn't succeed because he was being foolish about his own feelings. He could no longer take the crushing weight of the fight in himself anymore. He kind of hated himself for finally giving into his feelings. He just couldn't take it anymore. He had to say it. He had to go one way or the other and the way he chose was love.
Aurela's eyes fluttered and she looked right up at Alerius. "Firius?"
Alerius let a small smile slide across his face. She was alive! "Yeah."
Her eyes had changed too. They were just as golden and bright as her hair had now become. Just the colored corneas though. They were no longer that ocean blue. It made her look stronger both inside and out.
Aurela looked up at him and said very lovingly, "Did you say something while I was out?"
'Had she heard me?' Alerius thought to himself. He panicked for a moment. Now, confronted with her eye-to-eye once again his stubbornness had returned. It seeped back into him from out of nowhere and filled him full of that old feeling. He still loved her and he thought he might actually have the courage to say what he had been wanting to say for so long. Say what he had said just a few seconds ago! He wanted to say it now more then ever. One thing stopped him though. The thing that always had stopped him. The mission. If he gave into his feelings she would die. Also, the words that Yellow Korzen had said to him back in Dead Grave still haunted him. Even at this point in time. Still not realizing nor even paying attention to the memories of Lire's words. He looked down into her eyes and said, "No."
"Oh." She was a tiny bit hurt. She thought she had heard the words she had been wanting to hear from him for so long. She was just starting to regain consciousness when he had uttered them. Unfortunately, Alerius had lied so she wouldn't remember correctly.
He helped her up and she was finally able to stand by herself. She walked outside with Alerius at her side. She looked down and saw a total war had broken out! She scanned the battlefield as the hounds put up a desperate fight against the terrible force of the hellions. It was a loosing battle for the hounds.
Aurela had a stern look on her face. A look that was battle hardened. Alerius knew the look from so many battle hardened soldiers. She looked over at Alerius, "Firius?"
Alerius looked over at her with a confused look. One of surprise and bewilderment. He didn't know what to make of this new Aurela. He could literally feel the power emanating off of her! It was a tremendous amount of energy! It gave him chills just to stand next to her.
"What Aurela?"
Her stern look melted into this concerned teary look. It was still stern but yet troubled and a strong shaky sound to her voice, "We've got to stop this!"
Alerius looked out into the battlefield with about the same look on his face that Aurela had. "How?"
Her stern look was back with an extra added evil intention hidden in her eyes. "The Flaming Meteorite is still alive, Firius."
Alerius twisted his head quickly. "What? After an attack like that? He's still alive?"
Aurela didn't even move nor did her look even change. "Barely. We have got to finish this! I'm the only one who can finish him off! I just wonder if I have enough power to do it?"
Alerius looked at her, shocked out of his mind! Now it was him that felt scarred, innocent, and lost like Aurela had felt for so long. "What do you mean if you have enough power? Aurela, what happen to you in there?"
Aurela finally looked at him and at herself. "I don't know."
Alerius's look of concern did not diminish.
Below, the war continued as hounds and hellions fought. Even more hellions were landing too and the small force of hounds that had come was only growing smaller.
The two stood mesmerized by the chaos. Alerius didn't even know what to do now. He had completed the mission. He figured that as soon as he had gotten her to The Pyramid it would all be over. He figured that there would be no more fighting or conflict. No more hellion forces or evil in the universe. He figured that the war would stop. He figured wrong.
Now, everything was worse then what it had been! The war seemed to be escalating on both sides! The body count was getting larger and the weight of evil in the universe was getting heavier! Everything was falling apart and Alerius had no idea what the next move should be! For the first time in his life he had no mission! He had no goal to reach, no orders to follow, no real idea what to do next!
Aurela did though. She knew exactly what to do next and she was about to say it when suddenly one of those well armored hummers came blasting through a bunch of hellion forces. It was the same one that had first picked them up to go to the castle. The two Gatlin guns were firing away at the ground forces trying to
keep them away from the vehicle. The back doors swung open and there was General Rock. He motioned both of them to get in. He howled up at them wanting them to get in quickly.
Alerius and Aurela both looked at each other when this huge beast-like demon broke through the clouds with about forty ships around it. This goliath demon was as big as The Osiris and had these long thin streams of orange fluid soaking the landscape. It was melting everything it touched and it was heading towards The Pyramid! Alerius nor Aurela had seen anything like it.
Suddenly, from the opposite direction in the sky, about twenty, one-man hovercrafts came in with hounds on them firing at the smaller ships around it! They didn't stand a chance against the small ships.
Aurela and Alerius both bolted down the stairs. The Viseus Pyramid began to get doused in that orange liquid and began to melt! It was an ominous sight as the huge megalith of a flying demon let its fluid pour all over The Pyramid. Alerius and Aurela didn't look back. They didn't want to look back. The entire pyramid was melting away. It bricks were turned to running ooze and the top melted away like melting ice cream. The once sturdy monument to the Laylines on Hogarth was now no more.
