lucetilogs | all we are will fall

Entry tags:

all we are will fall

Who:

imatreenow, to be joined later by

fortunefail
What: like he was going to stay quiet for much longer
When: Saturday afternoon (October 22nd)
Where: outside house 52
Summary: Good old fashioned breaking-down and violence. Giles learns that distressed young boys aren't all that they seem. Yuan interferes. And no one was surprised.
Rating: PG-13? yeah? sure?

[Some days were better than others, but none of them were very good. Lows. Lower lows. Slightly higher lows. Grieving is a process, but Mithos had never figured out how to make it past the first few steps. It isn't easy when the smallest things can set him off and pull him back down. Today it's the garden that snares him, the one Martel had planted in front of the house. Still here, even though she was gone. His feelings are difficult to sort through, but that isn't new: a reminder of her, but entwined with and inextricable from a reminder of how short her stay was and how much he hurts. The wilted brown ghosts of flowers appease him in a way, with the broken validation of knowing that something else is suffering too, but some of the plants remain stubbornly green. A color he can't help but associate with her, and it falls back to the start of this whole ugly knot.

On a whim, with typical paper-width unpredictability, he decides he can't stand it anymore. He has to pull it up, piece by piece, kneeling in the dirt, bent over his work, teeth gritted, hands possessed, shaking as anger or despair or both eat away at him. Ceaselessly. Meticulously. An act of love, even if it looks an awful lot like hate.

Weed it all out. Everything that hurts.]

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[...it isn't as though the mysteries of gardening aren't slowly becoming more untangled to him as he gets to know Grune and Link and others. But even Giles can see that this is an act born from a good deal more than the desire to get rid of a few weeds. That this is a boy trying desperately not to think of something, or someone.

He's been there. He thinks bitterly that most of the village probably has been, by now. It's been a bad October.

The former Watcher watches Mithos rage for a while longer before he finds his voice.]

Need some help?

[He stops, falling completely still. Help. Like a human could do anything to help him, or would do anything genuine. (He's a human, isn't he? Most likely - this village is infested with them, so many worthless humans filling up space where his sister could be instead...) He doesn't turn to face Giles, he doesn't even pick himself up from the dirt and decimated plants.

But there are words. Muttered under his breath and indistinguishable. And runes circling beneath him. Then suddenly his voice is clearer, but eerily empty:] Ground Dasher.

[The ground will split beneath Giles's feet, and rocks and dirt spray violently upward.]

[...this is where living with two flatmates perfectly capable of killing you comes in handy. The second the sound of cracking earth and rending ground reaches his ears, Giles leaps back, far enough to avoid getting caught in the new fissure.

He stumbles back, struggling for a few bad seconds to regain his balance. When he does, it's to regard Mithos with a new wariness.]

I'll take that as a "no", then.

[Slowly, he pulls himself up -- an advanced spell like that takes a lot out of him in this weakened non-angelic state -- and faces Giles with a look that could freeze steam. The spell missed, but it doesn't matter, so little matters...]

Why would I need 'help' from a worthless human?

I'm not sure. I'm not sure why you needed help.

...it was just terribly obvious that you weren't in the best of states.

[He holds up one hand placatingly while keeping the other within quick grabbing range of his knife.]

Hindsight being what it is, I should probably have worried about that.

[Crack.
Crumbling
apart. Ha...haha...

His fists had still been clutching ripped-up plant remains until this moment, when he lets them fall to the ground. He's quiet in the way you know a storm is approaching. One step forward.]

Not in the best of states... Did you think you could make everything better? What could you possibly do? Humans do nothing but destroy and take.

Edited 2011-10-23 06:52 (UTC)

[One step back.]

I've done nothing to you.

Even after your response was quite an admirable attempt at destruction.

It doesn't matter. Nothing matters...

[One of those days where it's bad enough to make him forget that he does have more in this world. Still quiet. Unhinged. A few more steps forward, steady despite the instability of everything else. What should he do to this human...?]

[Better think quick, Mithos. This human is currently checking out the best avenues of escape to get out of sight and spell range from this house.]

[He notices. He can see the thought of escaping. But he isn't going to allow that, no no no. The human started this, and he isn't going anywhere. His sword is out in an instant, and he's quickly narrowing the gap between them. The quiet before the storm has ended.]

It doesn't matter!

[It's easy to forget why he used to carry his broadsword around with him everywhere, before that one bad experiment that shattered it into pieces that weren't all pulled out of his body.

This? This was one of those reasons.

He thinks he might be able to overpower Mithos in a contest of strength, and even that's just a guess. Giles raises the knife up to block, sidestepping as he does so and hoping that Mithos' momentum won't allow for a quick turn.]

[He rebounds quickly enough - he has more experience and skill in combat than Giles could possibly imagine. The sword comes swinging in from a different angle, ready to spill blood.

If he can't claw out of this state of perpetual unhappiness, then he'll drag others down to where he is.]

[He'd expected speed, yes, but the skill catches him far too off guard. Blood is spilled, the blade tearing past his guard. He shifts his guard only a second or two behind, but it's an important second. Not only does the sword tear open the skin of his forearm as he knocks it away from his heart, but it digs in deeply to his shoulder instead, tearing through flesh and muscle.

Gritting his teeth in pain, Giles darts right, bringing his good hand up in an attempt to wrench the blade free as it does so.]

[His eyes flare with dangerous gratification at the sight of that blood. Reduce this filthy being to nothing, force him down where he won't be able to get back up...

He pulls his arm back from Giles, to shake him off. To deter him further, he'll deliver a sharp kick to the shin.]

Edited 2011-10-24 04:58 (UTC)

[A kick that will connect. Giles staggers, but...pain is nothing new to him. He compensates, after a few seconds of hesitation, and slashes the knife at Mithos' face in an attempt to deter him before backing up further.]

[He quickly leans back to avoid the knife's blade, but it manages to leave a shallow cut on one cheek. It isn't nearly enough to deter him from this random act of violence. He's gone - reason is but a distant abstraction now. He won't let Giles put any distance between his filthy human self and the sword, and so he runs at him, blade out, quick, sharp, dangerous.]

[Sometimes there's nothing for it but desperation. Giles throws himself to the side, trying to go for a roll that will put him a few more yards away.

The first thing he does when the world stops spinning is reach out and grab a fallen branch. At least it will give him better range than the knife.]

[Better range, perhaps, but a weaker weapon and poor shield. Mithos is already intent on slicing through it, changing direction to keep following Giles. For how long will it hold up...?]

[It wouldn't hold up long. But there were a great many twigs and leaves still attached to the branch. It would last a while, long enough for Giles to catch his breath. In the meantime? He'd use the time to attempt to use the many pronged branch to disarm Mithos.]

Did you really think that would stop me? [He just slashes more viciously to nip that attempt in the bud. And if the human happens to be in the path of his blade too? Just as well. Everything can fall apart.]

[Giles will stay out of the path of Mithos' blade until the very last second, until all he has is what might kindly be called a twig. The second it takes for him to realize his own defenselessness allows Mithos' next slash opens a long, deep slash across his stomach.

Giles staggers, doubles over with pain. God, that hurts more than it should...]

H-Hope springs eternal...

[And he knows that now is definitely the worst time to be talking, let alone retorting, but...it's a reassurance, as much as anything. If he can still speak, he can still make it.]

Mithos!

[Yuan's enraged roar preludes his appearance by only the fraction of a second, as he dashes towards the blonde with inhuman speed. Ever since Martel left, it was only a matter of time until Mithos would lose control again, so Yuan had been lying in wait. Ready for even the smallest excuse to finally take his old leader down once and for all.

He's being driven not only by a need to protect Giles, but by a sharp thirst for revenge. Revenge for everything Mithos has done to others in Martel's name. This can't continue any longer.

Yuan's blade is drawn and ready to strike. Unless Mithos moves away from Giles immediately, the blonde will find his torso sliced cleanly in half.]

[Mithos leaps back just in time. Or barely in time, rather - he ends up with a long but shallow laceration across his middle. Blood is immediately visible on his clothes. He snarls, landing in a defensive position.]

Yuan! What are you doing here?! [Although he can guess. Spying on him? Making sure he stays 'in line'? Whatever that means - what a joke. He's sure that he's felt Yuan's presence nearby on several occasions over the past month. Like it's any of his business. What does it matter? What does anything matter?

He doesn't bother giving him time to answer, already launching a counterattack, ignoring the mild pain in favor of the immense rage brought on by the mere sight of the traitor.]

[If Yuan had actually been spending all his time spying on Mithos, he would've interfered much earlier than he did. As it stands, Yuan isn't the only one who's keeping an eye on Cruxis's former leader and he does have other things to attend to. It's a stroke of luck he happened to be passing by at all.

As Mithos charges towards him, he raises his saber defensively to block the attack, shielding not only himself but Giles as well. The last thing he needs is for his companion to get caught in the crossfire.]

Get back, Rupert! [This command may be pointless- he has no clue if Giles is well enough to move back at all, but it's worth a shot.]

[The clang of weapon against weapon. He rebounds off, but barely a second will pass before he's running at Yuan again, from a different angle to try and exploit blind-spots and bypass that massive saber. You took away his plaything, Yuan, and he's not very pleased. Not that he would be regardless - so many reasons to hate, so many reasons to destroy...]

[The different angle won't do Mithos much good. Yuan adjusts the saber's position to block once more, then he'll forcefully push back the moment those blades connect. He's going to try to knock Mithos off his feet.]

[He's knocked backwards with enough force to make him stumble badly, but he struggles to catch his balance and stay standing. And succeeds, barely.]

[The moment Mithos stumbles, Yuan pulls his blade back and moves sideways to get around him, possibly even behind him. If he can land a blow on Mithos's back, the battle will tip in Yuan's favor even more than it already is.]

[Mithos will try to block, but he isn't fast enough. Yuan's blade blows past his and tears through the side of his lower back, leaving a deeper gash. He grunts in pain, hand instinctively shooting out to clutch the bleeding wound.]

You...disgusting traitor! [Because insults help. Another attempt at a counterattack, though it's a pretty desperate one. His body wants to give out and just fall to the ground, but he urges himself on, fueled by bitter hatred.]

[Bitter hatred is something that they both share, but Yuan won't let it get the best of him. Not yet. He blocks Mithos's attack once more, ready to push back against the blade and keep it at a safe distance from his body. When he speaks, it's through gritted teeth.]

Stand down, Mithos.

Martel's gone! [The excuse for everything, as far as he's concerned. It will always be relevant, at the center of it all. He doesn't move to attack again, still clutching the wound - it must have been deeper than he realized - and panting.]

I know that! [Yuan's blurted it out before he can stop himself, only to immediately grit his teeth again. It figures that Mithos is still obsessed with Martel's departure over a month after it happened. Yuan is still grieving as well. Still wishing Martel had been around longer- that he'd approached her more often than he did...

He can't let himself get sucked in by Mithos's madness.]

I'll tell you one last time to stand down.

Shut up! What do you know!? [Yuan isn't the one who loved Martel so much that he couldn't stand to live without her. He isn't the one who broke down after she died - no, he was perfectly fine. He doesn't know anything.]

I've told you time and time again not to attack other villagers! You've been nothing but a pest ever since you got here and not even your time in that cell did anything to teach you about keeping your head down!

[If anything, locking Mithos in that cell made things worse. And Martel felt sorry for him. Martel was distraught because she felt she had failed her younger brother and was to blame for what he had become.

Whoever thinks that Mithos will regain common sense is naive. There is no cure for four thousand years of insanity except death, and Yuan is willing to provide that if needed. He raises his saber again in warning. Last chance to stand down, Mithos.]

Shut up! You don't understand anything! Martel would have--! [understood how upset he was, how angry he was. Except she didn't, not really. Not like she should.

Suddenly it strikes him: Yuan understands what he himself still can't grasp, that Martel did not want others to suffer for her sake. Yuan understands. That hurts worse than anything else Yuan's inflicted on him, honestly. Maybe Mithos is breaking Martel's heart, but she's breaking his too.

He raises his own blade, no longer clutching at the steadily bleeding wound on his back. He isn't so good at backing down, even if the blood loss is making him feel weak.]

["You don't understand anything". Yuan can't help but shake his head at that remark. It isn't that Yuan doesn't understand, it's that Mithos refuses to see the things Yuan understands as being the truth. There was a time when Mithos would actually take his advice, but that all changed when Martel died.

Everything changed when Martel died.]

You've brought this upon yourself. I've granted you mercy before, but those days are passed.

[Martel is gone so there's no reason for him to hold back. Raine would want to see Mithos imprisoned again, most likely, but Yuan's no fool. There's only one way to deal with this.

His feet dig into the ground so that he can push back against it more firmly when he finally kicks off, lunging up into the air and bringing his blade down before him for a strong Thunder Explosion attack. He'll distract Mithos with magic, then worry about dealing the final blow.]

[He won't be able to get out of the way in time, but he steps back to brace himself as best as he can. He doesn't care anymore. Or he cares too much...it's a fine line. But nothing matters, and consequences are a distant unreality. Despair and anger have consumed it all.

The explosion of lightning magic strikes all at once, tearing through him. A pained cry. Mithos staggers backwards before sinking to his knees, prostrate before Yuan. Lifting his head, he stabs his blade into the ground for support - get up, get up, don't let this worthless dog win. Doors are slamming shut fast.]

[Mithos is kneeling before him. After all those centuries of opposing him and planning his downfall... Finally, it's Yuan who has Mithos at his mercy. Too bad for Cruxis's former leader, there won't be any mercy. He isn't proud that he got this far. He isn't going to consider himself the "winner" of this little game they've been playing. Aside from that, he knows perfectly well this isn't over.

Yuan straightens up again, glaring down at Mithos. He won't expect any groveling. He won't expect Mithos to beg for his life or give him anything aside from spite. That's for the best. It makes it so much easier to do this when there are clear signs that this person is beyond salvation.

In one swift move, he strides around Mithos and reaches out with one hand, making a snatch for the wings. Unless Mithos moves fast, one of those will be grasped very firmly.]

[His body is too broken to flee in any way. aside from the injuries Yuan has dealt him, many of the wounds he received while rampaging in the aftermath of Martel's departure never healed fully - he had refused to go into the clinic and let anyone beside his sister tend to him. That last attack undid any progress toward recovery he had made.

As Yuan approaches, he swipes his sword out at him. It's a feeble attempt, failing to connect as a sharp pain throbs in his arm to protest the movement. Yuan has him. He sucks in a breath through gritted teeth as his wing is clutched. Trying to move, trying to get away...]

[It's easy to see that Mithos isn't well. That he isn't taking care of himself at all. Yuan's like that for a while as well, whenever he loses Martel again. The main difference, however, is that Yuan pulls himself together after a few weeks. He tries not to linger on the past and turns his focus to matters that are important in the present.

If only Mithos was capable of such a thing. It would've prevented so much grief.

Now that he's got the blonde's wing, Yuan knows the battle is already over. He throws his saber a short distance away and grabs hold of the other appendage as well, placing his fingers near the base, by Mithos's spine.

Swift and painless. Don't hesitate.

With one sharp movement, he pulls, fully intending to sever the wings from the body.]

[Mithos is halfway to standing up when he feels Yuan seize hold of the other wing too. The realization that he could be inches from death barrels into his brain in that instant. It wouldn't be new; he's been there before. A part of him thinks that, maybe...

...maybe he could use a break. From everything. From the grief that swallowed him whole and left him feeling gutted, just like the first time; from lying curled up in Martel's room for long stretches of time, unable to stand up on his own; from wishing every minute of every day that his sister could have stayed longer.

The other part of him will be cursing Yuan as the other tugs sharply. There's a pointed moment of acutely searing pain, nothing more than a blink in time, and his mouth forms the shape of a scream. It never gets the chance to unfurl. His wings are snapped off and the darkness is instant. Body limp, he falls.]

[For an instant, everything seems completely unreal. Yuan stares down at the body, almost expecting it to stir again. Was it really that easy? Could Mithos Yggdrasill, the leader of Cruxis, truly be taken down this fast? But seconds pass in complete silence and while blood continues to seep from Mithos's back, there's no sign of life at all.

That's it. Mithos is dead. He's killed Martel's brother. He's killed the man who twisted her final wishes. ... He's killed an old companion- No. No, that Mithos was already dead.

Suddenly, Yuan becomes painfully aware that he's still holding both wings in his hands, the feathers softly tickling his skin. He takes a weary step back, drops them to the ground and finally turns to face Giles. The expression on his face is quite unreadable, but inside he's still experiencing quite a bit of turmoil.

This was for the best.]

Are... Are you all right?

[Oh, thank god. Mithos might not be moving away from Giles, but Giles is going to be taking the chance to try and move away from Mithos again. There's no grace or skill to the attempt - he's just going to wrench away from the blade and attempt to throw himself flat and out of the way.]

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all we are will fall

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And Yuan can jump in here-ish!

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/squeezes another tag in here real quick

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