Last time in Reawakening of Heroism: John, as the Phoenix Knight, cast a spell, using only poetry and his faith in the divine, to quell an uprising of undead creations. Now, we shall see what happens as his spell takes effect... -------------------------------------------------------- Written by John Talisant Edited by Elizabeth Stephens Reawakening of Heroism part 4 The undead beings started to try and move away, but a bright white light engulfed the area. The undead, their vocal chords long gone, emitted not a sound as, the light engulfed their bodies consuming it in some holy fire. The semi-spherical wave of searing white extended, covering all it touched in the holy aura -- until, at last, as quickly as it had began the light suddenly and instantaneously shrank to a point of light resting in Phoenix Knight's extended hands. Nothing was left of the dark hordes save the Fenix Knight surrounded in an aura of black. John closed his hands around the light, "Rest in peace." The Fenix Knight blurted out another rhyme. "You blinded me with holy light, But ever now increased your plight!" Chris watched, somehow stoically calm, as the winged knight and his doppelganger faced off. What role would he play in a battle of light and dark? "Those souls are now free again after millennia of agony, their spirits allowed to go to rest now their bodies are no longer possessed by some malevolent, dark power." John drew his stiletto and broadsword, aiming the long double sided blade threateningly at his opponent. "Fenix Knight! For you and your master's crime I challenge you to a duel to the death. We shall fight until one of us perishes..." The blade burst into searing white flames. "YOU!" The Fenix Knight drew his dark sword, it's blade suddenly opening up into flames black as midnight. "I see that you are dumber still, For no one fights me or by will, Invoke the hatred of my master, Which brings their death about much faster." The Phoenix Knight smiled calmly. "I had earned your masters' hatred long before you know. He knows me very well, and if you meet him in hell, you can ask him. Your attack first." "Well since you ask as a matter of fact..." The Fenix Knight leapt forward, slashing to cut his opponent from shoulder to kidney. "Here I begin to slash and hack!" In an amazing feat of strength John brought his broadsword up to make a one handed parry, the resulting antipode deafening them both for a couple seconds. It barely made the difference, for bringing up the stiletto John made a direct assault for the shield.... Only to have the Fenix Knight disengage from their locked combat to smack the thin blade out of his hand. "NO!" John leapt back, his entire left side now open. "Do not think myself foolish so, That my own weakness I do not know!" "Damn you...." John launched himself forward into the same fury he had attacked Chris, but this time BOTH hands to his sword, driving the Fenix Knight back. However the dark warrior laughed and began to dance about in the open space, each step back also to the side, blocking every blow expertly with the shield which seemed to posses a mind of it's own. Then once again their swords locked, now with both hands grasping his blade the Fenix Knight pressed forward, bearing John back with some unknown power. "You should fear me the darker for it is I that is the stronger!" "NOT QUITE ASSHOLE!" Came Chris' voice from the side along with the sharp whirling of a blade flying through the air... Promptly fallowed by the sharp thunk as the holy stiletto drove it's way through the shield as if it was nothing more than cardboard. The shield itself emitted a sharp scream as it did so, the metal trying to pull back from the blade. The Fenix Knight now immensely surprised John smacked the dark blade far out to the side as his left hand shot out grasping the hilt of the stiletto. "W-w-what are you doing?" The Fenix Knight demanded. "You forgot to rhyme." John's voice sounded deep in his throat as he concentrated, "HhhhhhhaaaaaaAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The stiletto suddenly came to life -- emitting a light of it's own. The metal of the shield, and in fact the Fenix Knight's armor all began to melt, and like water rush of the Fenix Knight's body straight through the ground. Flowing away, leaving the dark warrior in nothing but a black tunic "My Armor! Destroyed by likes of you! Now and forever I hate you two! We'll meet again as you will see, And then I will claim victory!" The Phoenix Knight's smile returned. "You don't think you're getting away, do you? I remember your master as one who did not tolerate deserters." The Fenix Knight attacked with rage, and though swift, without the armor and shield he was all too open when the Phoenix Knight sidestepped allowing his opponent to impale himself to the hilt on the flaming broadsword's blade. Eyes wide open in surprised the dark knight stepped back, coming off the sword that was his fate. The wound it left was soaked in black blood, more like pitch than the one of the four humors. He coughed, the same bile falling from his mouth to the ground. Both heros extended their swords, Phoenix Flame and Lunar Flame glowing brightly. "I-am made of death..and pain..." The Fenix Knight gasped, uttering a last rhyme "Rest assured we'll...meet again..." Chris felt a smile cross his face, "Too bad there's no poetic justice for the wicked. "Time to finish this." John lead, both of them acting in perfect accord, "Have a dreary afterlife creep." "LUNAR FLAME INFERNO!!!" "PHOENIX BLAZE ENCLOSURE!!!!!" The fiery dome and wave of blazing inferno engulfed the Fenix Knight in a fitting hell to end the life of the Fenix Knight. When the flames finally cleared, not a thing was left save the black sword which clattered to the ground, the dark power oozing out as the armor and shield had before it. "John." Chris had long waited to ask his question, "I'm going to ask you a question and you are going to answer me..." John turned, surprised. "I will answer what I can. I didn't think I would be able to talk to you ever again, because of my actions. Ask, and you shall be answered." Chris hadn't thought the Phoenix Knight was going to be this open, but took it as it came. "Why didn't you kill me when you could have? Why even announce you had arrived? Why didn't you just strike me down?" The Phoenix Knight considered this. "I don't know. It seems even in my obsession, the light of honor shone through the darkness which I had fallen into... After all, I didn't think of myself as wicked." "But then one thing keeps bugging me, why did you come back in the first place? To kill me, make a fool of me, or some other reason? And how come I don't remember you? Who is this "master" the Fenix Knight spoke of? I need these answers!" A supernatural voice echoed through the void. "You will have to wait for them, my business is more pressing." Both the Phoenix Knight and Chris looked around, and the Phoenix Knight re-sheathed his dagger in his boot, changing his sword from his right to his left hand. "What do you want Al-Ghural?" Chris looked at the Phoenix Knight, but quickly looked in the same direction PK was facing when a 7-foot- tall humanoid emerged from the shadow. He wore a suit of armor with the helmet soldered onto the top. In the palm of it's right hand, an evil eye stared at them. In it's left, a long sword almost taller than a human. When it spoke, it's voice boomed through the chamber. "Johan, my master offers you this proposal, you as well, Neptune Ninja: if you help him take control of Earth, you will both be rewarded by keeping your lives as well as ruling beside him when he takes the rest of the universe!" Both the Phoenix Knight and Neptune Ninja felt the anger roil inside them. Chris spat, "You can tell your master to rot in hell." The Phoenix Knight cleared his throat, white knuckling his broadsword. "Tell your master, Doppler, that he will have his day come, and I will destroy him." The creature seemed to nod. "It is a mistake you make, Phoenix, but you will realize that eventually." Suddenly, the void, along with Al-Ghural, vanished, and Chris and John found themselves back in normal clothes in the park where they had vanished from. There was no trace of either the Sailors or the Fenix Knight. John was the first to speak. "That went better than I expected...but, you had questions for me to answer. We should talk in a few days.." Chris interjected. "No, now, I want answers. John, where did you come from? What did you think to accomplish when you got here?" John thought again. "Chris, you don't remember me at all, do you?" Chris crossed his arms, "If I did, I wouldn't need to ask." "The complete truth is that I didn't believe the Dark Queen Metallia's curse at first, but apparently, it has had more far-reaching effects than I could imagine." "Pardon?" "It's an extremely long story. But, here goes." He took a deep breath, "I was born to the ruling class of Atlantis, a kingdom of Earth. I was born with wings, a rarity, but it marked me to become a future Phoenix Knight. In my 200th year, like all Phoenix Knight's before me, I was sent for training under an older Phoenix Knight. Even at 900 years, still a child by the standards of my species, I was one of the best fighters in their ranks, and a Commander. I was betrothed to Mina to continue the bond in the Twin Worlds League between Earth and Venus, but the powers that be had other plans for her and I, and you as well. "Atlantis was attacked by the Negaverse in their first offensive. It was only obvious -- Atlantis provided the planet with the predominant amount of sheer fighting force. Most of Earth fell before I was able to take a small force of the Phoenix Knights and led a counter-offensive against the vicious and brutal General Forak of the Negaverse and self-proclaimed Emperor of Earth, who had killed my father and was about to finish my mother off as well. I challenged him to battle, we fought, and I won. Forak fell into the sea, and his body never surfaced again. The horrible truth is that I lost more than I gained. "The rest of the Phoenix Knights I took with me died. But, perhaps foolish in my own pride over my parents and my kingdom's death, I single handedly challenged Metallia, the Dark Empress herself, to battle. It was useless to fight one so powerful alone, and not only did she not kill me honorably, but banish me -- she also cursed me. Everyone that had loved or even cared for me would forget me, and anyone who would take me in would soon suffer the same fate. I was cursed into a torturous wandering that lasted millennia. The only thing that kept me going was my mother's final words, to marry my betrothed, and allow my kingdom and species to be revived. "Now tell me, in all honesty if you believe me, that you feel no pity for me at all. If you can, I'd like to hear it." He paused, waiting for a reply. "You must REALLY think I'm a bastard." Chris shook his head, "John, you tried to kill me. That, perhaps in time, I can forgive, seeing as I'm still alive. Second, you've probably cursed us all by bringing that Necromantic Lord wannabe to our throats, but I can deal with that. But, the one thing I will never be able to forgive you for is trying to take Mina away from me. I will always distrust and dislike you for that. Don't forget it. But that won't stop me from giving you respect as a warrior -- I'm not without a heart you know." John nodded solemnly. "But now Chris, though questions remain unanswered, I must depart as there are matters I must attend to. I owe a great debt to both you and Mina, and if you ever need my help, whether you trust me or not, you may but ask and be answered." He then turned and walked away. Chris felt incredibly tired. He was going to stop John from going to his fate, he didn't feel he had the strength even if he wanted too. He simply turned and walked toward his apartment, somewhat more enlightened to a warrior's pain. He would have to get a Sailor Meeting together to discuss this turn of events. ----------------------- "Fenix!" The Dark lord called his minion forth, "I order you to get over here now!" The Fenix Knight, his face charred, in fact his entire frame covered in blackened flesh, crawled, more or less, into the massive throne room of the palace. He hoisted himself on one of his knees, and bowed his wings, now only bonelike frames, in respect. "M-my master I could not see, That this defeat would happen-me, The Phoenix Knight is stronger still, With heart of silver and an iron will!" "But Fenix..." His master cackled, "It was not a loss! You lived and learned about how the Phoenix Knight fights, and now you can take advantage of those weaknesses next time you face him." The cackling suddenly stopped. "However, further failure will result in a MOST painful eternity for you. And believe me, it will be *eternal*." The glowing red eye signifying the presence of his master faded, leaving the Fenix Knight in the solitude of the throne room. His entire burnt frame shook with not only rage but indignation. Never in his existence had he been so ashamed before his master, and now that Phoenix Knight had reduced him to a shadow of his former self -- made him seem... pitiful. Black fire burned within him, already forming a new strategy. And this time he would take the Neptune Ninja as well... "Revenge shall be upon my sword, On this I swear my solemn word!" ======================================================================== The end of my first series. You know, it bring back memories...actually, no it doesn't. Don't have much to remember yet. Oh well. As always, questions and comments are welcome at: Darkfireblaze@Compuserve.com