The Ruins of Alexandria

As the troops arrived, Janier organized some of them into two formations by the door. Standing in a 4x4 formation, he sent other to scout around the outside of the building. He still did not like the feeling he was getting. They'd never had any problems against Shadow Guards or Spirits, but what he felt inside was stronger, more malevolent than anything he had faced before. It chilled him to his very bones. "Men, I won't lie, some of the things we see in here could make a lesser man go insane, but I chose this company for your resilency. I have fought beside all of you, and I know you will not let what you see effect your judgement, or your duty. I trust you men that when the time comes, you will do what will be needed to get the job done. Any documents you come across, do not ready them, do not touch them, we have no idea what kind of dark magic has been worked here....It could be blood magic." Sharp inhales of breath were heard from the ranks. Blood magic was outlawed a long time ago, for it was very deadly, and in the wrong hands it could enslave people and corrupt them on a level that could not be remedied. He motioned to a soldier garbed in heavy armor, with a long shield that could cover his entire form, and a long sword that gave him a might fine reach. He would be the first to enter. Janier nodded and the heavy soldier slammed into the door with his shield, ripping it right off the hinges as the soldiers on either side filed in behind him, creating a shield of soldiers ready for whatever could come at them. Janier entered once all 33 soldiers had entered before him. Aubs would come in behind him and the rest of the company would wait outside, guarding the exit. They had no clue what to expect as their eyes adjusted to the dim lights that remained functional.

Aubresiah didnt like this she did not like it at all. As she walked in behind Janier, the doors slammed shut behind her. This made her even more paranoid that something was about to go wrong. Trying the door it wouldn't budge. Other exits were still available though. Her eyes had already adjusted to the dim light and what she saw made her want to scream. Keeping a calm face she looked directly at the shade that stood there, seeming to have come out of nowhere. "Janier... A shade is right by the door...Its three feet from me" She said in his mind in a calm voice. "Shadows are everywhere...On the walls...On the ground and celing." She also said looking around. Unable to see what was infront of his men due to how many their were she was unable to make a report for the men to know what lay before them.

The only reason he knew of this name was the fact he had read the documents. His other men did not know about them and he cursed inwardly. Spreading the information of creatures stronger than Shadow Guards and Spirits would cause a panic, but not telling anyone could very well cost him the lives of his men. "Everyone, close your eyes, it's going to get bright in here." He whirled around and tapped the ring on his forefinger and a bright flash of light lit up the room, glowing fiercely as his sword swung with his body, cleaving the shade's head from it's body and digging into the wall of the compound, allowing it to stop before it swung into Aubresiah. The light had caused the shadow guards and spirits in the room to flee, in pain and terror at the light. Some of the guards who were not fast enough were now temporarily blinded and kneeling down as he jerked his sword out of the wall and turned towards the only exit, the door that would lead them deeper into the compound.

Aubresiah breathed out and ducked just in case he was not able to stop the swing. Watching Janier deal with the Shade she smiled. Looking at the men she sighed. Swapping out her swords she now had Light Bane in her hand, the starshot she still held. Walking cautiously beside Janier, they came to adoor frame, going inside her sword lit up the dim lighting as she walked around. She saw a childs corpse tied down to a table, needles still attatched to it. aubresiah growled lowly grabbing a sheet and placing it over the child. She remembered where they kept the documents on what was done to the child. Opening all the filing cabnets she placed each and every file of what was doone in this room into the steel closet set it on fire and shut it tightly so no fire could escape. Once satisfied all of the infromation in this room was handled, she went to the next and repeated the processs. More bodies were in this room, teenagers this time.
Memories flashed through her mind of being a child in a similar compound, all the way to being a teen,until Mandelyn broke them all out. The pain, sadness, trials. It chilled her bones and heated her skin. Heat was visible rising from her skin. Swallowing her anger, she walked back to the hall. She wanted back in Aurons office, she wanted into the trials chamber.

Janier placed one hand lightly on her shoulder. "You know the layout of this place pretty well. We will split up, 16 of my men will go with you, the other will go with me, we will cover more ground that way." He felt she wanted to go somewhere specific, which was the only reason he would allow the group to split. "My men are loyal, they are at your disposal." He nodded to his 16 soldiers and set off, opening doors cautiously and clearing out the rooms, torching each and every one thoroughly. As the hall curved, he and his men disappeared out of sight. Shades he was not worried about, those he could take, but a Pride or Desire demon, as well as Revenants and Arcane Horrors made him worry, set his nerves on edge, and he prayed he would have the strength to resist and fight.

Aubresiah sighed clearing out rooms on the way to his office tortching every document. On the way there, she found the room Mandelyn was mudrered and drained in. Her body still lay there with her swords, her jewelry. Muttering she grabbed the items and broke open another weapons locker it contained Mandelyn's wedding ring. Placing Mandelyn's items in her pack, she exited the room after setting all documents on fire. Going into the body locker the men saw ten bodies of the former queen of Alexandria. Aubresiah broke open the chambers setting the bodies on fire, to be sure that no one could use them for evil. Walking out with the men she sealed the doors so the fire could not escape. Walking to Aurons office she kicked open the door

Inside Aubron's office stood Luka, his face broke into a smile when she kicked the door open. He was young, without the pain and fury in his eyes, he stood as he did before his imprisonment, and he moved towards her slowly, arms outstretched, reaching to pull her safely into his arms as he had at the lake before giving her the ring.

Aubresiahs head was yelling warning bells to her. She grasped the starshot tighter. Walking towards him she ordered into the soilders minds "do not come closer." As she embraced Luka she sighed, closing her eyes she bit her lip and drove the starshot into his shoulder. If it was Luka it wouldnt be repairable, If it wasnt it would burn the flesh and wrack the body with pain. Holding her emotions in was difficult for her as she stepped back. The ángel side If it was Luka, would push out the starshot.

The starshot stayed lodged in his shoulder firmly, but it began to push itself out little by little until it clattered upon the floor. His eyes reflected hurt. "Aubresiah." His voice was calm, free from any emotions other than pure joy and love for the woman standing in front of him. "It's me." And he stepped forward again, holding his arms out to the sides so she could inspect him.

aubresiah shook her head back and forth. "You don't smell right." Continuing to shake her head, she backed up into a soilder. "You don't have your scars." One part of her was screaming to go towards him, the other part was telling her to run as fast as she could "There is no possible way that you could remember me this much. Not without you being crazy or a figment of my imagination. " Mandelyn broke into her head "Aubresiah trust yourself. Trust yourself. If it doesnt feel right. If your body is saying run. Run." Aubresiah pushed her out of her mind and looked at Luka's eyes "Explain yourself, or I will end this now" She said in a stone cold voice. Her sword was drawn and pointed at Luka

The hurt and pain in his eyes was evident, this stung as much as a dagger to the back. "Aubresiah, it's me Luka, do you not recognize me? In here, in this room I was given my life back. I found notes, they described to me how to use this machine." He indicated a machine off to his right. "It took me back, back to the day before I was imprisoned. It reversed the aging on my body and everything. I am myself again, I am the man who I was supposed to be, and I love you my sweet Aubs, now we can be together."

"To bad that machine is broken right? To bad Its a vitals machine" she growled at him, as her hand started to glow with a bright light. Reaching out she touched his head, the light seeped into his body, burning away every lie. Swallowing hard she stepped back "Who are you?" She adhesión with athority. "Who sent you? Why are you here?" Her voived got rougher and more angered as she went. She was thanking herself for looking into If she machines worked now.

The Luka standing before her disapperated, and a desire demon stood in its place. "No one sends me anywhere. I go where I wish. Did I not give you exactly what you wanted? The man who was missing, who you loved and wished for more than anything else in the world, is he not?" She knew what she said to be true, that she wished things could go back to the way they were before Luka disappeared and the destruction of Alexandria. The demon drew close and whispered in her ear. "I can give you what you want, I can heal him. All you have to do is spare me, and I will repair the damage done to his body and memories and leave you two in peace."

Aubresiah didnt flinch at the demons touch, although the demon inside of her was jealous of her touching Aubresiah. Her down demon flashed images of the Shadow File in her head "Its making false promises. Strike it down, before it strikes you down" her demon roared in her mind. Although Aubresiah wanted Luka back, the way he was, she knew it would never be so simple. Pushing her sword up into the demon, she twisted it with a deafening crunch in the quiet room "Nothing is that easy" she whispered back to the demon as Light Bane poured light into the demons body. Inside of her howled for her to stop killing the creature, she wanted Luka to be with her. The real one, fixed up, all better.

The demon simply laughed as it pulled it's body off the blade. "Foolish human, your light cannot hurt me. I am not some weak shadow creatures who fears the light." The demon slid back, and disappeared through the wall.

Aubresiah swore. None had heard her ever swear before. Grabbing the documents she went to the closet burning them in her hands as she went. Blisters started to appear on her hands, the pain keeping her mind off what she had just thrown away. Whatever was remaining when she got to the closet she burned in there. Grabbing the whole file cabinets, his desk and any piece of infromation she tossed in the closet effortlessly, breathing ragged, for her demon was howling to be let out. To go after the demon and murder it her way for touching her host. Aubresiah built up fire in her hands and blasted it into the closet, shoving the door closed she locked it. "All of the infromation has been burned men, we can go meet up with Janier now. She checked the walls to be sure there was no hiding spots, as well as the floor. There was none. Striding out infront of the men she cut shadows off the walls with Light Bane, they burned upon the blade, she could feel her mind going, the paranoia, the insanity starting to build

Janier lay against the wall immobilized. His limbs were like lead and blood ran down his chin. All around him his soldiers lay slaughtered. The had been caught off guard by a revenant that was laying in wait. He winced as his eyes caught site of the Revenant, and heard the cracking of the bones as one of the unlucky soldiers was thrown against the wall. In only a matter of minutes he had been soundly outclassed by this creature of immense power. The Revenant heard his sounds and turned towards him, walking slowly, savoring the death to come.

Aubresiah smelt the blood now that the emotional pain was being blocked "You will follow me and you will do as I say!" She yelled to the men as she raced down the hall. Seeing mangled corpses along the way. The blood pooled all over the once white floors. "Oh hell!" She skidded into the room gracefully on the pools of blood. "If you will stay to fight you mustCut its head off, get its heart out then burn the damn heart and the body, I will not think you a coward if you get Janier out of here and home to Linares. Get Janier out of here at all costs do you understand me?!" Is what she said in the mens minds. Slashing at the creatures back to get its attention off of Janier she looked at Janier with sorry eyes. She kept slashing at the creature until it would turn on her "Come one...come on..." she said in her mind to herself

The Revenant laughed and let loose a burst of energy that threw everyone back against the wall. The revenant raised his hands and a sword and shield materialized in his hands. He turned and looked at the woman laying against the wall. His red eyes flashed as he began to move towards her, shield out and sword upraised. He glanced back to see the soldiers she had entered with carrying their wounded leader out the door and towards one of the exits. He did not care, they were nothing to him. He turned his full attention back to the woman who had tried to attack him. "So you want to try and succeed where he failed. You will need a lot more than that sword to finish me off." He crouched into a defensive position a good 18 and a half feet from her. "Come on, hopefully you will be more fun and put up more of a challenge than that weakling."

Aubresiah felt the wind get knocked out of her and started shaking in anger once the men were out of the room "Desix escort them home" Was all she said before she cut off and mindlinks incoming or outgoing. She noticed the flammable substance covering the floor. The smoke was rising, spreading out from the closet fires. "Oh I will succeed." As she stood, the white down of her feathers burned off around her falling into the flammable substance ignighting it. Her wings turned a sleek ebony, they were war torn and battered. Her clothing had burned off around her, the replacements were black flats, and a knee length beautiful dress that hugged her body tight until the hips where it flowed out. Her weapons belt was still upon her hips. Glyphs started to burn into her skin and in all of this she just smiled sweetly up at the Revenant. With a metallic "Shink" her wings turned into razors. She gestured for him with her hand to come towards her. The flammable substances had ignighted down the hall, in the room with them, the flames were making their way through the compund.

He grinned "Well aren't you full of surprises?" His laugh was harsh on the ears as he stepped through the fire unscathed and approached her, his shield raised to protect himself he swung down in a vertical arc towards her left shoulder.

Aubs spun away from it countering the attack with one of her own aimed at his shield arm, a deep gash was now visible on her shoulder he had aimed for. She would not give him the satisfaction of her screams or acknowledge her pain.

He pulled his shield arm back and twisted it so the shield took the brunt of the attack. It was strong enough to make his arm go numb, but nothing more than that. He pushed forward against her blade, pushing the point of his sword to her exposed midsection, yelling as he did. "You'll have to try harder than that if you want to beat me woman!"

Aubresiah closed her eyes forcing him back with her own sword, as a trickle of blood ran down her stomach. 'I can play the armor game too' She scoffed in her mind about the sheild. She growled, a set of armor started to cover her body from the fire and shadows as if she had summoned the fire to her will, as if she had willed the shadows to protect her. Shadows crawled over her skin. Grabbing Blood Bane out as well she held them tightly as she beat her wings feeding the flames. Smiling she flew across the celling, diving down at him with one sword aiming to wrench the shoulder away from his body on his shield arm. The other sword was aimed at an angle to cut his head off while she flew past in a blur. Thats all she was to him, a blur. Within the fire, the smoke and just how fast she was traveling, he only caught glimpses of her swords shining off of the fire. Aubresiah was trained for fighting in fires, fighting in the rain. In case she did not hit him or incapacitate him she flew up to the celling flying just as fast.

The Revenant dropped dow, the sword clanging off the top of the helmet that protected his head. The other blade planted and stuck into his shoulder, causing his shield arm to sag. He grinned as her left flank was wide open. He stabbed at her armpit with his blade, one of the few weaknesses almost every armor had.