New Stars Are Born (Hawk, Shilo, and I)

Hawk heard Ixion's words, and they cut into him like a knife. "He's right," Hawk said to himself. "He's right, he's right, he's right." He found himself unable to do anythjng except reapeat that, feeling like the worst person in the world. When Rori charged at Ixion, we was in a kind of spaced-out mode. He felt the sudden push back and clattered tk the floor, seeing Rori injured. He felt as though it was his fault Rori was hurt, and he felt conflicting emotions. His anger got the best of him in the end, and he charged at Ixion, forearms tranformed into the ends of his spear. He screamed as he aimed a direct hit to Ixions head, when he was shddenly blasted backwards into a wall. He looked straight into Kidd's eyes before blacking out.

Hawk woke up with a pounding head. "Where am I?" He thought out loud. He was in a room with a bed and some posters on the wall. Wait...he recognized this room. It couldn't be...but it was. His room. "What is going on?" He wondered with slight panic. The door opened, scaring him, and in walked...his sister. "No!" He shouted. "Please, go away. I know this is a dream or something, but just don't-I dont want-" Hawk found himself unable to speak. "Hello, Max," she said, smiling almost maliciously. "People don't call me that," he growled back, voice full of venom. "Oh? And why's that? Did you have a tantrum after we left and decide to change your own name? Figures. You were always weak and you always will be." Hawk flinched at the words. "Who are you?" Hawk asked with a shaky voice. She wouldn't say these things." His sister sighed and responded, "What, you mean the truth? Well, I'm leaving. Have fun in here. I think there are others who want to see you."

Blakely was trying to ignore Ixion as much as possible. She was trying to act like Kidd's words weren't making it worse. Even though he was being sincere, the madness was creeping ever more and she could feel herself oozing with jealousy. But Shilo was her friend too. She felt the same way about Shilo as Kidd did. Oh but he likes Shilo more than he likes me. He holds her more dear than me. She pressed her hands to her face trying to stop the thoughts she was having. She was seething at the ground for a moment, like an animal, before she realized she'd placed Rori's head in her lap.

Ixion watched the group unraveling before him. He tipped his head at Hawk as the child rushed toward him. He really didn't have much to defend against a weapon who was as unsure as this one. And when Hawk leapt into the air, Ixion took great satisfaction in knocking him back to the floor hard enough to send the boy's head reeling against the wall. Ixion exhaled a vile laugh as Hawk wilted against the wall, slumping forward and into darkness.  

Blakely blinked down at Rori, who gave her a weak, bloodied smile and placed a hand on her cheek. "It's just madness Blakely. You have to go be with Kidd..." she told her, somehow pushing herself up. Flinching at the bruising pain across her abdomen, she rolled onto her knees and tried getting to her feet. This was a much harder feat for the girl than she'd hoped and instead she crawled over to Hawk on all fours, taking the boy against her chest and holding him there. He was mumbling now and she lifted up one of his eye lids to see the whites of his eyes batting back and forth rapidly.

"Hawk.. Hawk..." she called to him quietly, pushing his bangs aside and pushing her palm against his forehead.

Blakely stared over at Kidd who'd called after her earlier. She watched him curl up on the floor and felt her heart aching at the sight. "What am I doing... what am I doing?" she whispered to herself, getting to her feet as Kidd shouted at Ixion who seemed to find Hawk's unconsciousness a bit hilarious.

"You think you can kill me before I kill you?" Ixion asked Kidd, flicking his sharp gaze on Kidd. He strolled up to the boy and bent over him, looming darkly above Kidd's seated figure on the floor. "Look what you've done to your friends."   Ixion hissed down at him, pushing Kidd's forehead back with his index finger. "How about you join me Kidd. Then you won't have these weak fools keeping you down all the time." Ixion told him, eyes gleaming with the prospect.

"NO!" Blakely wailed, leaping over at Ixion, her forearm flashing as she brought a blade down at his face. He side stepped, just barely dodging her attack. Her blade scathed his face and sent blood spilling from the open gash across his eye. He howled with twisted laughter at this, stumbling back drunkenly and holding a hand to the wound which was dribbling blood between his fingers and into his laughing mouth.

Blakely moved her body in front of Kidd, taking the boy against her in her right arm. She looked over at his face twisted with madness and dropped her bloodied left arm at her side. "We need you Kidd..." she told him with a whimper.

"WELL THE LADIES ARE SURELY CARRYING THIS TEAM!" Ixion announced, pushing his hair out of his face with a blood-slick hand. He spat red from his mouth, thinking he'd really like a cigarette now, but oh how fun it was to see them withering.

Kidd kept shouting and screaming at Ixion that he'd kill him, but even in his insane state, he knew it wouldn't be possible without Blakely's help. And all that that knowledge did to Kidd was feel even angrier with everyone. "Why did she leave me to go check on her?" Kidd asked himself, feeling a bit of hatred towards Blakely rise up inside himself. "What makes her so special?" Kidd hissed, referring to Rori. All day, it felt like Kidd only had himself, Blakely leaving him for Hawk and Rori, Rori being, you know, Rori, and Hawk wanting to be Rori's knight in shining armor. "I don't need any of them to take this guy down...." Kidd told himself, despite knowing deep within himself he couldn't do it alone. The madness wouldn't allow him to accept this reality however.

Looking up at Ixion one more time, Kidd watched Hawk run straight at him in an attempt to attack him. It went horribly wrong, however. Even though Hawk didn't deserve what came to him, it brought Kidd pleasure to see his comrade suffer at the hands of Ixion. "Serves you right!" Kidd shouted at Hawk as he hit the wall. "I told you you guys aren't shit without me!" Kidd yelled at Hawk, Rori, and Blakely, lacking sympathy for the three of them. Kidd turned back to face Ixion again, to have his head lifted by him. Kidd felt chills run down his spine as he stared straight into Ixion's dark eyes.

"J-join you?...." Kidd repeated, his voice full of fear and uncertainty. There was something inside of Kidd pulling him towards the idea of actually joining Ixion and helping him with whatever he wanted to do. "I.... I...." Kidd felt hypnotized by the man's gaze. At a loss for words, Kidd was torn with what decision to make. How on earth could he join someone as wicked as him and had killed one of his closest friends? What the fuck am I seriously thinking? There's no way in hell I'd join this dude. Kidd knew he would never do it, but he was having a hard time getting the words out. Deep inside, he felt something telling him to join Ixion. "I...." Kidd kept repeating himself, losing himself deeper and deeper in Ixion's eyes.

Right when Kidd thought he might have actually joined Ixion, Blakely interfered. "What?" Kidd said, breaking out of his trance. "Blakely?" Kidd watched his partner manage to land a hit on Ixion, a minor hit, but a hit nonetheless. When Blakely told Kidd that his team needed him, he frowned at this. "No. You don't need me. None of you guys need me." Kidd glared at her, still feeling somewhat abandoned by them. "You all have each other. What I say doesn't matter. Look at them." Kidd gestured to Rori and Hawk who were still on the ground, attempting to get a hold of themselves. "My orders didn't matter back then, and now look at what they got themselves into. You guys all thought you had this shit figured out without me. You still do, right? You don't need anything from me." Kidd said to Blakely, his voice full of venom. They went against his orders and now they're come crawling to him, asking for help? What type of shit is that?

"They ain't carrying shit." Kidd glared at Ixion. Rising to his feet, Kidd left Blakely on the floor to think about how they'd all made him felt. "I don't need a team. I'm The Legend. And I sure as hell wouldn't serve your scary ass. Now that those two insubordinate scrubs are out of the way, take me on." Kidd challenged Ixion, willing to fight him without anyone's help. "You're fucking with the wrong one." Kidd dropped his voice again, hoping to intimidate Ixion.

Hawk attempted to exit the room, but the door appeared to be sealed. He tried to break a window, again to no avail. He sat down on his bed and cried. He hadn't done it in so long, and he had to release all of the pain and sadness he had held in. He slammed his hands on the door and felt it open. Rori? What was she doing here?

But it didn't seem like Rori to Hawk. This Rori seemed angry. Very angry. She walked into the room, glaring. "Wh-what are you doing here, Rori?" He asked. This couldn't actually be Rori, right? Right? he thought. Could that be the real Rori? "Rori, how did you-" He was cut off by an abrupt punch to the face, then another, and another. "You worthless piece of shit," she whispered, voice full of venom. "You got me hurt, and probalby killed out there. You're an excuse for a weapon." Hawk was on the ground now, shaking and absorbing kicks. "Why are you doing this? Rori, Stop! Please, stop."

Outside of Hawk's head, he was mumbling, but it was becoming more and more audible as time went on. He was whispering, "Rori, stop. Please, stop." before going back to incoherent jumbles of words.

Rori was holding Hawk's upper body in her arms as he whimpered her name and she stared down at him helplessly. Blakely was having about as much luck with Kidd as she was waking Hawk. Kidd was falling deeper and deeper. "Hawk..." Rori clutched at the boy's shirt and choked back tears, her face hot at what he was saying. She wasn't mad at him anymore. "Hawk. I'm here..." she whispered, closing her eyes and concentrating now, hoping her soul wavelength could reach his.

Blakley choked at Kidd's hateful words, clutching at her chest as if her breath had been stolen right out of her lungs. "Kidd, Kidd please." she pleaded, trying to take hold of his arm as he rose away from her. Her face fell as he scolded her and she dropped her it into her hands, thick sobs welling up now. And as Kidd taunted Ixion, challenging him, Blakely couldn't hold back the whimpers that were escaping her. Tears dripped from her fingers and she could feel herself withering closer to the floor.

Ixion looked at Blakely, his expression telling her that Kidd was hopeless. He turned his gaze back on Kidd and gave him smile now. "I'll take care of you, boy. Just come with me. No need to fight anymore." he told Kidd, leaning some of his weight casually against his scythe. "But if you insist." He growled, launching foward so quickly, Blakely hadn't even heard his feet leave the ground until his scythe dropped against the floor with a loud clank. She lifted her head just in time to see Ixion plant a heavy strike against Kidd's cheek, his soul wavelength beaming into a bright light against the flesh of Kidd's face. The wooden pews lurched and hissed, cracking down their centers at the impact, and for a second it seemed Kidd didn't move, before Blakely watched his body fly limp through the chairs.

Blakely watched in frozen terror, her entire being wanted to run to Kidd but her legs weren't responding. Her mouth trembled and Ixion slinked upright, his spine curling in an unsettling fashion as he tipped his head sideways at Blakely, his bloodied face like something from a nightmare, gazing steely eyed at the fear-stricken blond. "You know what my favorite technique is?" he hissed at her, and she sat staring, without words. "I can leech your soul right from you. " he told her, lip twitching up into a smirk.


She leaned back now, scrambling backward on all fours as he started toward her, his hands alight with his soul wavelength. Blakely's back hit a cracked pew and she cowered below him, feeling like she was going to start dry heaving. Ixion wrapped a hand around her throat and snatched her up into the air like a rag-doll, legs flailing as she scratched at her throat. Her breaths were sickly gurgles and she could feel something strange happening in her belly. Like ice was filling her.


Rori didn't want to leave Hawk. She didn't. She wanted to stay with him and save him, but as she watched Kidd get knocked out of the ball park and Blakely get handled so violently, her body went into auto pilot before she could control herself. She placed Hawk gently down now, hoping he'd wake. She needed him. "I'm sorry Hawk." She cooed, almost as if she were saying her goodbyes.

"BLAKELY!" She shrieked, her abdomen stinging with pain at the words. She forced herself forward, managing to dash toward Blakely. "TRANSFORM!" she wailed, Ixion's grip slipping as Blakely dropped into her weapon form, landing in Rori's hands. Rori's feet peddled quickly against the ground as she took off toward Kidd at the back of the church. She dropped Blakely beside him and knelt down, placing her ear to his chest to see if his heart was still beating. And it was.

Blakely popped out of weapon form, deep fingered bruises blossoming across her frail neck and she grabbed for Kidd like a child ripped away from their mother. She buried her face against his chest, sobbing against the boy and Ixion stood back dusting his hands off.

Kidd continued to glare at the man, waiting for his response to Kidd's challenge. When Blakely begged Kidd for his help, he didn't even regard her. Kidd was too far gone for that. "Shut up, Blakely." Kidd said coldly, growing annoyed with how pathetic she was acting. Looking back up at Ixion, Kidd shook his head at what Ixion said. "Over my dead body. You-" Kidd was cut off before he could finish his insult. When something was out of Kidd's control, time always slowed down for him. Kidd's eyes slowly widened as he watched Ixion dash straight at him, his fist out in front of him to hit him straight in the face. No.... I can't dodge this one.... Not this time.

Kidd felt the full impact of Ixion's punch flow through his entire body. Soul wavelength and blunt force came together to make the hit excruciating painful for The Legend. Kidd could feel himself go flying off of his feet, hopeless to what'd just happened to him. Everything became blurry to Kidd as he flew through the entire church, awaiting the final impact of the blow. However, Kidd wouldn't be able to retain his consciousness as he collided into some chairs that finally stopped him from flying any further. Kidd's vision dimmed, eventually fading into black.

This is it.

The Legend lay in the pile of destroyed chairs, broken and defeated. Kidd had thought that the second he hit the ground he'd probably be dead. But to his surprise, he wasn't. As stubborn as he was, he couldn't go down like this. And he wouldn't. He wasn't ready to die yet.

Eyes shut, Kidd lie there, willing himself to get up and keep going. However, he couldn't. There was something keeping him from getting back into the battle and show he wasn't through with Ixion. Perhaps it was the guilt of having disrespected Hawk, Rori, and Blakely back there, and not willing to accept their help. Or maybe because he actually liked seeing Rori and Hawk take the physical abuse from Ixion when it could've potentially ended their lives. Maybe it was because when Kidd knew he had the chance to end everything by accepting Blakely's help, he turned her down, despite her pleading. Whatever it was, Kidd wouldn't bring himself to feel guilty over his wrongdoings. He was The Legend. He didn't have any wrongdoings.

Just then, Kidd thought about something. What would mom think if she saw me now?

The last promise Kidd had made to his mom before leaving D.C. was that he'd help anyone and everyone in need and stand for the greater good, no matter the cost. Obviously, Kidd wasn't doing that here and finally realized it.

Oh my God.... I'm over here going against my word. Kidd slightly shook in his unconscious state.

I almost got Rori and Hawk killed. Kidd shook again.

Blakely wanted to help me even though I wasn't listening to her. She still tried. Kidd stopped shaking, that last thought bothering him the most.

Ever since he'd met Blakely, he always teased her and underappreciated her, even though she put up with all the bullshit that nobody else would tolerate from him. Nobody else did that for him. No one except for Shilo.

Man.... Blakely is special. Kidd thought to himself, realizing how much she was actually worth to him.

And what would Shilo think if she saw me treating Blakely this way? She'd probably be very disappointed in Kidd. It wasn't like he was the only one that cared for Shilo dearly. Blakely did too. It was wrong of Kidd to act as if he was the only one. The only one that still thought about Shilo and wanted to avenge her death.

Make up for what you did. Get up. Now.

Kidd's eyes shot open. Or rather, one eye did, the other one swollen shut from Ixion's punch. Something warm and wet was getting all over his chest. Kidd looked down with his one eye to see Blakely crying over him. That was all it took for Kidd to get his mind straight and snap out of his madness.

"Blakely...." Kidd put his hand on her back and slowly shook, "Blakely.... Get up.... We have to deal with him...." Kidd coughed, his voice coming out raspy. Kidd attempted to sit up slowly, pushing himself up with both of his arms. "Ouch...." Kidd said, shakily sitting up. "Blakely, I-" Kidd coughed a few times, in obvious pain still. ".... I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me, or why I've been acting like such an asshole, and I know you probably can't forgive me.... But I'm sorry." Kidd apologized over and over again, hoping he could get her forgiveness. Kidd slowly wrapped his arms around Blakely, pulling her into a hug to show that he was being sincere in what he said.

"Go.... Go check on Hawk...." Kidd said to Rori, too embarrassed to look directly at her. Kidd still sat there on the floor, hugging Blakely until she would forgive him. Whenever she did, they'd all take down Ixion. Together. As a team.

Hawk was lying on the floor, bleeding from his head. His mumblings had stopped now, and he was silent. Inside his mind, he was doing a very similar thing. The pain was unbearable, from his head to his toe. He had long since stopped crying, just staring ahead quietly. No one was in the room with him, he was alone. He felt...a presence of some sort, like someone's soul wavelength was near him. After a while, he recognized it. Rori. Wait. This isn't real! he thought. Rori's trying to reach me from the outside. I have to WAKE UP.

Hawk's eyes opened slowly, splitting pain in his head. Rori was holding on to him. He looked up at her face. "Rori?" He whispered. "Is it really you, or am I still gone?" He reached up and grabbed her hand. "I-I don't think I can transform. I'm sorry that I failed you."

Rori looked at Kidd's swollen face, watching him pull Blakely into a hug. She stood, pressing a comforting hand to his shoulder before looking to Hawk who Ixion was now approaching with mild distaste at the fact that the boy was wasting space. She hurried over to him before Ixion had reached him, and pulled him toward her. "Hawk!" she gasped at his coming to. She pulled him against her chest, squeezing his hand tightly and pressing her forehead to his. "It's me. It's me." she told him, just glad to see he was with her now. "You didn't fail me Hawk..." she sighed, her hair had fallen on either side of their faces like a tent and she could feel Ixion's eyes on them.


Blakely shook her head against Kidd's chest as he spoke to her. Her tears had soaked them both and she scooted herself up against him, arms clinging to his waist as he pulled her into a hug. "I... I thought you were dead." she choked into his shirt, her words muffled. She didn't want to let Kidd go. She didn't want them to get hurt anymore and she surely didn't want anyone to die. She pushed herself up some, trying to lift her head to look at him, but her neck was aching horribly and her windpipe felt like it might start bleeding from the bruising. She touched Kidd's blackened face and hiccuped back a cry at seeing him in this condition. "We can't win Kidd. We can't." she told him, dropping her forehead against his shoulder.

Kidd looked up at Rori when she put her hand on his shoulder. Kidd shot a sad look up at her, almost as is if to say "I'm sorry". After Rori left him and Blakely alone to go check on Hawk, he turned his attention back to his partner.

Kidd softly sighed at what Blakely said. "No, I'm not dead. I probably should be though." Kidd said, feeling like an old man that lost everything. By everything, he was stripped of his pride and dignity. Ixion had completely humiliated him in front of everyone, he practically gave insight into what went on inside his mind, and he hadn't even managed to land a hit on Ixion by himself without the help of others. Kidd felt completely useless. Kidd cringed in pain when Blakely made contact with his bruised face. It felt really sensitive and was sore from Ixion's punch.

Kidd looked down at Blakely when she dropped her head on her shoulder. The girl looked defeated and lost, and Kidd was all to blame for the current state everyone was in. "Blakely, please...." Kidd nuzzled her hair, trying to get her to listen to him. "We have to do something about this. I know everything is looking crazy right now, but failure isn't an option.... I know you're scared, but...." Kidd looked up and over at Rori and Hawk. Ixion was slowly making his way over to the two and Kidd knew they had to take action now, no matter how bleak everything looked.

Kidd sighed and looked back down at Blakely who was still crying. Everything lie in his hands now. Taking Blakely's face in one of his hands, he gently lifted her head up so he could look directly into her eyes. "We have to do something about this. We can't wait to let ourselves get killed. And we can't just let him get away with Shilo's death." Kidd said, projecting his voice with more confidence than he had previously. It would only have a negative effect on the entire situation if Kidd let his apathy and loss in morale take over him.

"C'mon, Blakely," Kidd stood up and reached a hand out for Blakely to help her up. "Let's just get this over with and get outta here...." Kidd said, eyeing Ixion now. He was scared. Kidd had his doubts of being able to take on Ixion now, but he sure as hell was willing to try. There was no other choice. If he died, he would at least die trying and defending his team. Kidd was going to keep the promise he'd made to his mother.

Hawk watched in terror as Ixion crept his way towards him and Rori. "No, no, no," he whispered, clutching Rori. "I'm sorry, Rori," he cried. "I'm so sorry. Listen, if we...don't, you know, come out of here, I just want to thank you for everything, okay?" He hugged her and held her there for a while. "I'm sorry for what I'm about to do, Rori. Just...trust me and run." Hawk stood up on wobbly legs, everything hurting.

This is it, he thought. At least I'm going to be useful for once.

He swayed back and forth, glaring straight at Ixion, beaten and bloody. "You're not touching Rori," he said with a fiery voice. "You can kill me, but not her." He raised his fists weakly. "I'll give my life for my meister."

Blakely felt a bit safer in Kidd's embrace, but her heart was telling her this battle was over. That they couldn't handle it or take back the damage they'd caused to one another. She wanted to take Kidd and Hawk and Rori away from this place as quickly as possible. But she was feeling too defeated to say any of these things. All she could manage were sobs against Kidd's shoulder. She felt his hand take her chin and she let him lift her face to his own, sniffling and rubbing at her red puffy eyes. She tried to keep her mouth from curling down into a frown and her lips trembled with the struggle as she listened to Kidd's conviction. How could he continue on with any confidence at this point? She was biting into her bottom lip so hard that it split beneath her teeth, a tiny dot of blood beading against her skin. She exhaled a heavy sigh and though she agreed with Kidd, she truly did, she was also so very scared.

As he stood, she watched him go, looking at his hand before her. She closed her eyes at the ground and clenched her fists, trying to build up the courage to go on before placing her hand in his and standing, her eyes meeting Kidd's with uncertainty. "You're my meister, so I'll do as you wish." she told him, giving herself a reason to find it within her to face Ixion again. She reached forward with both arms, snatching Kidd into a tight hug and then falling into her weapon form.


"Hawk, pease, don't speak like that. We're a team, okay?" Rori's brow furrowed, and when she was wrapped up into Hawk's gentle embrace she could have stayed there for an eternity. "No Hawk! NO!" She shrieked as he stood to face Ixion who managed to raise a bloody eyebrow at the boy.


"How cute." Ixion proclaimed, exhaling a stark chuckle and standing to stare at the boy. "You're terrified. Just look at you." He told Hawk, one hand on his hip.

Rori got to her feet, body aching with every move. She stood beside Hawk, taking his hand into hers with a tight grip. "Don't leave me Hawk. Please." she begged him, seeing him stagger about was hurting her. The look in his eye was defying her pleads.

Kidd was taken by surprise by Blakely's extra little hug. It was obvious that his partner was nervous, there was no denying it. But that didn't mean that Kidd would let her back down. Especially not to the one person that'd taken Shilo's life and nearly theirs. Kidd gave her a little squeeze of reassurance that everything would be fine. Kidd sighed at Blakely's saying that she'd fight because he was the meister and it was his wish. "Yeah...." Kidd looked down at his fists, giving Blakely a weak smile, "Yeah, I am the meister.... But to real with you, you're the weapon.... What you wanna do is just as important as what I wanna do." Kidd told her, letting her know how important what she had to say was. "In any other situation, I can't lie.... I'd probably run, just like I did back home...." Kidd looked up at Ixion who was still making his slow approach towards Hawk and Rori, "And I'd probably let you make the decision here.... But there's just no choice with this guy. You know we have to take him out...." Kidd shut his eyes, wishing that things were easier. It was just like back at home, running from the other kids who'd bullied him. There was almost no cause for it either, they did it only because they knew they could. And even though Kidd was scared and hurt and tired of being bullied by those boys, he knew he had to step up to them, otherwise it'd never stop.

When Rori shrieked for Hawk to stop doing something, Kidd was brought back to the current situation. "What is he doing?" Kidd asked no one in particular, seeing that Hawk was taking a stand to Ixion. Hawk had been so messed up just a second ago, how could he even manage to stand after taking such a hit? Kidd knew that he couldn't afford to let Hawk get anymore messed up than he already was. Taking a deep breath, Kidd took one small step forward and stopped. Something was holding him back from taking another stab at Ixion.

"I.... I just don't know...." Kidd said, his voice full of doubt, "I don't know if we really can take this guy, Blakely...." Kidd said, feeling older than he really was again. There was so much in Kidd's hands right now, the pressure was almost unbearable. Kidd wondered how he could take on other missions and like these back then with no concern of anything like this happening. Things like this never happened, why would he be concerned? It looked like Kidd had finally met his match. "Blakely...." Kidd looked down at his hands again, hoping that maybe she could offer some inspiration for him. Kidd had completely forgotten about Hawk and Rori. "Blakely, do you really think we can't take this guy?" Kidd said, nearly choking at his question. Nothing was ever too tough for him. Now he needed someone else to tell him what he could and couldn't do.

Hawk swayed on his weakened legs and he held his ground against Ixion. He felt faint and sick. His arms felt heavy. But he knew he had to do this. He had to finally contribute. He suddenly turned his head when he felt Rori grab his hand. He flinched at her soft touch and squeezed her cool hand. "Don't." He only said one word, before grabbing her shirt and pulling her face close to his.

"Rori, listen to me. We can't do this. You need to RUN." He was crying now. "Please, please run. I need to be able to save you. I won't miss an opportunity to save those that I love again. So please, just-LOOK OUT!" Hawk suddenly shouted, watching an attack unfold from Ixion. He shover Rori out of the way and turned to take the brunt of the attack, praying in his head.

Rori's expression was pleading desperately with Hawk as the boy turned to face her. She was shaking her head no the entirety of his speech, unable to make a word leave her mouth as tears started down his face. She felt her heart flutter and ache and she closed her eyes as he pulled her face to his own, not wanting to accept anything he was saying. She would never abandon her partner. "Hawk... I" her lips parted just as Ixion brought his scythe down toward Hawk.

She stumbled back from the shove, catching herself against the wall that was behind her and as Ixion's scythe glistened in a slow decent toward Hawk, she clenched her teeth and shoved her feet against the wall to send her back toward her partner. She rammed her body against Hawk's as the blade slithered down Hawk's right arm, sending a spray of hot blood hissing across Rori's body and over her face. The blade avoided any of Hawk's vitals, but he was now losing a fair amount of blood and the scythe's path had not merely wounded Hawk, but also cut Rori's dress just under her breast and down diagonally, the cloth was just clinging to her hips and as she gazed down at her exposed abdomen, a thin shallow cut bubbled with blood. That was the least concerning part of the scene as her previous wound had blossomed into a deep purple and blue and was visible under her snowy skin.

"I'm... bleeding internally...?" she exhaled aloud, eyes wide at the injury. Now that she could see it, her knees felt weak. She peered over at Hawk who had fallen to the floor, but was still alive, and Ixion made quick to shove the girl down beside her weapon. She thudded to the floor beside Hawk, his blood was on the floor and on her, and she was slick with it. "H-Hawk..." She swallowed heavily, ripping the loose fabric from her dress and grabbing his arm. She wrapped the wound as best she could manage and her eyes fluttered now, rolling back and forth in her head as she fought staying conscious. To no avail. Bright stars glistened across her vision and she tipped over against Hawk, her head knocking against the boy's legs.


Blakely looked with Kidd as Rori shrieked. She felt her blood running cold and when Kidd asked her if they they could take on Ixion, her resolve had returned at seeing Hawk's sacrificing. "We have to Kidd. You're right. We have to." As the words left her, horror replaced them and her mouth was gaping at Hawk and Rori now. She watched as Hawk shoved the girl away and she recoiled to save him. And Blakely's eyes grew wide with  Hawk's blood raining and the unveiling of Rori's abdomen. She watched Rori's lips part in utter shock at the internal bleeding that was clearly becoming fatal and Ixion shoving her down. It was clear she didn't have much left as she hit the ground against Hawk.

"KIDD!" Blakely wailed. "GO!" She screamed, her thoughts turning black and murderous. They had to kill Ixion. "Kill him." she hissed.

Kidd heard a loud and deafening ringing in his ears. He became oblivious to everyone and everything around him. Where am I even at? The current situation Kidd had put everyone made him lose sight of everything. "Why am I even here? I wasn't meant to lose." Kidd spoke to himself, feeling like he was the only person in the room. I shouldn't be here. I've never lost in my life. This was a lie, however. Kidd had lost plenty of times. Against Jax, against that monster, against the two clowns that'd attacked him and the other student and Death Scythe. It was all becoming clear to Kidd. "I'm not a legend...." Kidd ran his hand along his black eye, "I'm just some regular dude."

"Huh?" Kidd jerked up, in a state of shock from Blakely's screech. "What happened?" Kidd lifted his head up. The way Blakely had suddenly changed moods disturbed Kidd. "Is this really what I acted like earlier?" Kidd asked himself quietly, feeling the regrets overwhelm him even more. If only he'd just complied with Hawk and Rori. None of them would be in this situation. In fact, they'd probably have had the mission over with and been back at the academy, checking in with the professor who'd be expecting them to be there.

Kidd's vision came back into focus when he noticed that Hawk and Rori were laying down together in a bloody heap. Kidd felt something in his mind snap. Holding back the stomach contents he felt rushing up his esophagus, Kidd forced him to swallow back the vomit. "Th-that should've been me...." Kidd whispered, his eyes wide in fear as he stared at Hawk and Rori who laid at the feet of Ixion, humiliated and defeated. "That should've been me." Kidd grit his teeth at frustration. Endangering the lives of others and asking someone else for approval on whether or not he could handle an adversary? Not on his life. This wasn't what the true Kidd would've done.

"HEY!" Kidd shouted at Ixion, disgusted by his actions. "Don't worry about those two! Focus on me! You pathetic piece of shit!" Kidd balled his hands up, ready to finally make his move. He had to do something about the situation now. No more dawdling. "I'll make sure you pay for everything you've done!" Kidd shouted, new found confidence flowing through his veins. "You ready, Blakely?" Kidd asked his partner, hoping she was up to the challenge. They would need to work together if they wanted to take Ixion down.

Hawk closed his eyes and braced for impact. He clenched his fists and grit his teeth. He took solace in knowing that at least Rori would survive this, if she followed what he said. Hawk suddenly felt Rori push back into him, and he gasped. "Rori! NO!" he screamed, just as he felt the sharp blade slice down his arm. "Fuck!" he yelled, falling to the ground in extreme pain. His vision was blurring, and his arm felt...like someone had wrapped it in barbed wire. Covered in acid. While on fire. The pain was unbearable. He stayed conscious just long enough to see Rori collapse onto him, wrapping his arm. "Rori...I-" Hawk's vision faded to black as he lost consciousness.

Hawk opened his eyes and saw blackness all around him. He was floating, with no control over his motion. He looked to his right and saw...Rori? 'R-rori?" He whispered. "Is that you?"

Ixion flicked his gaze over at Kidd now, grinning with delight at Rori and Hawk who were still heaped on the floor, motionless.

"Well look who's finally gotten their shit together." he stated blandly, his posture relaxing now as he leaned the scythe against his shoulder. "Not sure how you managed to recoup from that hit, but I tip my hat to you." he mused, gesturing the tipping of an invisible had atop his head. He made a small bow at them and chuckled curtly.

"I'm ready." Blakely stated at the man's words, wanting him dead evermore. She scanned the room and noticed Ixion's zombies waddling toward their master and decided they should probably get rid of them first, however, Ixion was having none of her plan as he moved toward the zombies in a defensive manner. "Shit." she sighed. "How does he know what we're going to do before we do it..."

Rori could hear her name. But it seemed she was surrounded by darkness and for a moment she couldn't concentrate enough to register Hawk's voice. To Hawk it would appear that her body was floating motionless before him, completely nude as their soul resonance was not yet strong enough to produce anything other than their physical forms within the same empty confines.

"Is that you?" her eyes fluttered open and she made a motion as if to sit upright, though this only rotated her figure to face Hawk, and she gasped at the boy, who was also as clothless as she. She squealed at this, curling herself up into a ball to cover herself, yet it seemed wherever they were--the notion of "dressed" or "undressed" was merely conceptual as the bonding of their souls was deeper than that of physicality.

"What is going on?' she whimpered at Hawk from against her knees. She had never experienced anything of this sort before.

Kidd eyed Ixion, formulating a way to go at attacking him. "You don't ever shut your dumbass up, do you?" Kidd responded to Ixion's remark. The more and more he looked at him, the more and more tired Kidd got of being in that church. "Okay, task one. We have to make sure Hawk and Rori get out of here alive." Kidd told Blakely, "Task two, we kill this guy...." Kidd said, putting on a false macho facade. I really have my doubts.... But it's now or never....

Kidd glared at the two zombies that now looked to be taking some sort of defensive formation around their master. The third one was currently being wielded by Ixion, so that'd have to be something Kidd and Blakely would have to look out for. "Well...." Kidd sighed, feeling a bit frustrated with the predicament they were in. "I should've taken those guys out when I could've...." Kidd ran his hand through his hair out of frustration. They weren't much of a threat to him, but they certainly would hinder him if he didn't take them out now.

"Alright, let's just get into it...." Kidd said to Blakely, his voice a bit shaky. Kidd was awful at strategizing, but what he hoped that what he had in mind would at least give him somewhat of an advantage.

Squatting down, Kidd looked down at all the pieces that surrounded him from the broken chairs. Picking up a handful of pieces, Kidd examined each piece carefully. When it seemed that Kidd had lost his mind, Kidd hurled all the pieces he'd been holding at Ixion and his zombies. "Now." Kidd charged at the zombie to Ixion's left with as much speed as he could muster. If things went as Kidd had planned, the pieces would distract Ixion and the zombies for a few seconds. Seconds that were precious to Kidd taking down his lackeys.

Picking up speed as he sprinted towards his first target, Kidd swung straight for the zombie's neck, hoping to decapitate him like his first attempt at Ixion. Focusing his soul wavelength into Blakely, Kidd's swing went flying at the zombie so quickly that his hand whistled through the air. After this initial attack, Kidd would hope to go straight for the next zombie in the same fashion as the first.

Ugh, what's going on here? Hawk thought. This shouldn't even be possible. I must be...imagining this. Yes, that's what's happening here. It's just like...just like earlier. This Rori isn't real. She can't be. Hawk floated in silence for a while, slowly realizing the situation of his nakedness. Oh, this is awkward if thst really is Rori. This must be a dream, or a nightmare. Hawk looked over at Rori, curled up. ...I think this is definately a dream. Hawk tried to focus on some...noise that he could hear in the back of his head. It sounded like-It was! Words. Words that sounded like Rori's voice. Was she talking? Hawk looked over at her, silent and blushing. Are those her thoughts? How can I-But-Oh. Hawk thought for a second. Maybe we can see eachother somehow relating to our souls? This feels like a raw soul connection, that might explain how I can seemingly hear her thoughts. Hawk then tried to stop thinking about Rori's looks, but the more he tried not to think about it, the more he thought about it. If he could hear her thoughts, chances were she could hear his, too. He blushed furiously. Hawk found himself curling into a ball aswell, trying to cover himself any way he could. He looked down at his right arm, gasping. The gash was still there, and so was the blood, but it wasn't flowing. It seemed frozen in time. Just what the hell is going on here? He had to think a way out. Fast. Who knew what was happening to Kidd and Blakely...or even himself and Rori...out there. He shuddered. What if I died, and so did Rori? Is this what the afterlife looks like?

(Sorry for the late reply guys. The amount of homework I had this week was over 9000)

Blakely felt air whistle past her as Kidd brought her back and then forward toward the zombie's neck. Though this seemed a fair enough strategy to the weapon and her meister, Ixion was always two steps ahead. Just as Kidd swung Blakely forward, the zombie flashed into its weapon form, a massive hammer, which landed in Ixion's right hand as he let go of his scythe zombie whom dropped back into its zombie form just to Ixion's right.

Blakely growled aloud. "Of course..." she hissed, glaring over at the bunch. "He's always got a trick doesn't he?"

Ixion brandished the hammer as if it were light as a feather, but it glowed with his soul wavelength and Blakely could only imagine what kind of attack was headed their way, just as Ixion brought the hammer down to the floor.

"Jump!" Blakely wailed just as the floor split like the parting tides and sent wood flooring shattering up like the sides of a canyon.

Rori squeezed her eyes shut tightly, thinking she'd wake from this dream. However, that was hardly the case. She noticed then that she too could hear a voice. A familiar voice at that, and she gazed over at her parter whose face was beet-red, and yet he was not moving his mouth. How was he speaking? She opened her mouth to speak, yet no sound escaped her and she wondered if they were only able to hear each other's thoughts in this place.  

Can you hear me Hawk? She closed her eyes yet again to concentrate on thinking clearly enough for the boy to understand her, yet her mind felt muddled. Muddled in stress and worry for their lives. She hoped Kidd and Blakely were okay out there and suddenly this thought gave way to an anxiety attack. She was trapped here in this mental prison and her friends were out there dying. She could feel her breath catch in her chest and she reached a hand up to clutch at her heart. I...I have to get out of here. But it seemed she was sinking deeper into the abyss.

Outside, Rori's body twitched and convulsed as her chest rose and fell with stiff breaths. The girl wheezed aloud and Ixion glanced over at the two on the floor, smirking. That girl will die soon. He looked forward again, sharp eyes on Kidd and dashed toward the boy and Blakely, right down the center of the gaping wound he'd bashed into the floor.

Kidd's eyes widened as he struck nothing but air. "I missed?" He asked, wondering how that could be possible. Kidd'd picked up immense amounts of speed and even distracted Ixion and his goons at the same time. How could his plan have failed? Turning quickly to face Ixion, Kidd heard Blakely shout. "Jump?" He repeated, still in a state of shock from his attack having failed. Boy, did Kidd get lucky. A second later and he probably would've been dead. "Shit!" Kidd hissed, launching himself backwards off of his feet out of desperation to avoid Ixion's attack.

Landing on his back, Kidd felt the earth shattering strike from Ixion ripple through the ground. Lifting his head up to see what Ixion was doing next, he noticed him just staring at Hawk and Rori. Gasping, Kidd got up quickly. "I'm not even tired...." Kidd said through heavy breathing. Everything was just so blurry to him. The future. The uncertainty of it all was what was getting to Kidd.

"What's he doing?" Kidd's breathing and heart pace slowed down. You've got get a grip.... Stop rushing into shit without thinking about it first. Ixion didn't appear to be doing anything threatening towards Hawk or Rori. But that didn't give Kidd an excuse to just stand around and not take action. "Here we go...." Kidd said, standing on his toes again. Kidd's greatest strength from training coming into play.

Just as Kidd was about to make a move however, Ixion made one first. Ixion dashed towards Kidd, coming at him at an alarming rate. I've got this. Kidd took a deep breath threw his nose and exhaled. Time this right, Kidd.... Waiting Ixion out, Kidd stood his ground. Wait for it.... Just as Ixion was about to make contact with Kidd, he quickly jumped out of the way and sprinted in the opposite direction that Ixion had came from. It was by less than an inch though that Kidd had avoided his foe. "Time to even out the odds." Kidd said to Ixion, sprinting past him and towards the other two zombies.

Kidd stumbled over the large hole that'd been left in the floor by Ixion, overambitious and committed in taking out the other zombies. Using his hand and legs at the same time to carry his momentum forward, Kidd used his last bit of velocity to uppercut one of the zombies. Kidd then rammed his shoulder deep into the other zombie's abdomen, sending it flying far from where it'd been standing. Turning his back to Hawk and Rori, Kidd got into a defensive stance. "Fuck those guys." Kidd looked at Ixion without a hint of concern on his face. "This is just you and me." Kidd said. We've got this.... He doesn't have those fuckers at his disposal anymore.... Kidd felt confidence fill him again. They might actually take this one if they played it safe from here on out.

No, this can't be death. It must be some sort of shoul resonance. Hawk continued to think to himself. In his focusing, he almost missed a voice. He looked up and saw Rori staring at him, as if she had said something. Had she spoken, or was she deliberately trying to speak to him through thoughts? Rori? Can you hear what I'm thinking?[i] he attempted to project to Rori. [i]Actually, I kinda hope she can't hear me, he thought. that would be pretty embarrassing. Hawk attempted to move around in this void, barely being able to reach out and grab Rori's arm, pulling them close to eachother. Oh no, he thought, I can feel myself fading. The edges of Hawk's vision were fading, and he was feeling woozy. He grabbed onto Rori and held her tightly, not wanting to leave her. i'm sorry, Rori, I'm so sorry. was the last thought he was able to project before his mind went completely blank, his body on the outside going almost completely still, save for the occasional breath.

Ixion's face twisted. A mixture of pleasure and the thrill of competition made combat much more entertaining. He swiveled as Kidd dashed past him toward his Zombies and exhaled a grunt before changing his path and hurrying after the boy, whose advantage was clearly speed.

Blakely squealed happily at Kidd's new strategy, they'd dodged the hammer and she couldn't have been more pleased to take out the two zombies. Her blade glinted through the zombie's skin, green muck-blood spraying as Kidd's uppercut sent Blakely on through the zombie's spine, clean. It's head thudded to the floor like a brick and the body waddled around aimlessly, oozing green slime.

The force of Kidd's shoulder meeting with the other zombie, vibrated through Blakely's body and she watched the air disperse from the zombie's abdomen like a whoopee cushion. It wheezed and was sent flying away from its master.

"YES!" Blakely cheered, Kidd's sudden surge of confidence filling her to the brim and when Ixion stood before them, his expression seemed a bit less amused at the decapitation of one of his zombies.

"Ah, well. Luckily for me, I don't need either of them to kill you." he retorted, dashing forward and bringing the hammer down against Blakely's blade. Sparks burst at contact and Blakely grinned at this. He hadn't broken their block. Which meant they might actually have a chance.

Ixion lept back, light on his feet, and inhaled deeply before smashing the hammer into the floor yet again. The floor shattered and gouged under the pressure of the attack and Blakely was feeling more determined than ever. In fact, something was feeling not quite normal. As if Kidd and herself were somehow fusing into a single consciousness--their souls resonating on a level that was new to the both of them.

Her chest felt like a light was blossoming. Swelling from within like she might burst. "What is... this..." she whimpered.

Ixion's brow furrowed. His senses were on edge now as he looked on at the two before him. Were they actually soul resonating properly now? How could that be? Why now? He growled at this and launched himself forward, yet again. Only this time he dropped his weapon and decided to use his soul wavelength to damage them.

Kidd simply eyed Ixion and pushed back against his attack. Kidd's legs and arms tensed up as he willed himself to block Ixion's attack with all he had. Gritting his teeth, Kidd pushed with all his might and broke Ixion's attack. It actually worked. Yes! Yes, yes, yes! Kidd felt like breaking out into a celebration, but this was only half of the battle. Ixion was still very much a threat. Instead, Kidd decided to remain indifferent to the whole situation and not let emotions overrun him, no matter how intense they may feel.

Tilting his head to the side, Kidd shot Ixion a disturbingly calm look. "I told you I'D kill you, right?" Kidd said, his voice coming out unusually cool. Why hadn't Kidd approached his fights like this instead? It was getting the job done more efficiently than his usual run-and-gun routine.

"Don't be angry...." Kidd said in a comforting voice, hoping to mock Ixion as he'd done to him earlier. "Why don't you join me instead?" Kidd attempted to imitate Ixion's voice in hopes of riling him up even further. Kidd's shenanigans were quickly put to rest, however. "What- what's going on?" Kidd asked Blakely, concerned in the sensation that was filling his entire body. He was just as concerned as his partner.

The feeling was euphoric to Kidd. He'd never felt anything like it since partnering up with Blakely. The two felt so close together. Like their bickering and constant fighting had never existed in the past. Like they were both coming together to become one. It was overwhelming, but Kidd knew he had to try and stay calm. They'd come so far from where they'd started, they HAD to finish off strong now.

As Ixion rushed at Kidd once more, Kidd swung out with his right, hoping for the best. At the peak of Kidd's swing, he noticed something. Something that he'd never seen Blakely do in the short time that he'd been her meister. The tips of Blakely's blades expanded a few inches, giving them a much more frightening appearance than before. Not just that, but to top it off, a wave of what appeared to be Kidd's soul wavelength left the blade and went flying towards Ixion. The wave ripped through Ixion's shirt, hitting him directly in the chest, impairing Ixion's assault on them.

"WHOA!" Kidd exclaimed, dropping the cool guy act. "Why didn't you tell me you could do this?!" Kidd squeaked at Blakely, overjoyed with what this new found ability. Kidd had completely forgotten about Ixion, sure with himself that they'd put him down for good this time.

Ixion's eyes grew bright and wide with the ripple of energy that was heading toward him at great speeds. He tried to dodge, but instead found himself being ripped to shreds by the wavelength and shielding his face from the damage. His skin sizzled at contact and hissed with every slice the attack afflicted his body with. His shirt was torn to bits and draping like wilted tissue paper from his shoulders before the threads simply disintegrated and the piece of clothing was no more.

Ixion had dropped to his knees now, yes he was quite visibly seething. Though he was a slender man, his body was toned muscle and with every breath he took, the muscles writhed under the skin as if subject to electroshock therapy. For a moment the pain cycled through him and he thought his muscles would disintegrate as well, but the fire subsided and he pushed himself up from the ground, eyes more deadly than ever.

Blakely too, was reveling in what they'd just done. She was so overcome with accomplishment that she could hardly ever recall a moment her and Kidd had not gotten along. In fact, why would they ever argue if they were this perfect together, and able to perform such an attack? Is this what true soul resonance felt like? And if so, had that meant Kidd and Blakely had never properly resonated with one another before?

"I didn't know I could do this!" She replied with a giggle. Suddenly the pains and uncertainty she'd been feeling prior were no more and all she could think about was Kidd using her in the same means with every battle. It was exhilarating! The emotion was almost addicting and she wanted more of it.

Ixion was sparing no time for the two to be excited over the menial bullshit that they seemed so proud of. Soul resonance was rudimentary! Yet he'd allowed himself to underestimate the children and subject himself so openly to their attack. And what's more, the boy had even tried mocking him with that gaping lump he'd received from Ixion simply punching him. Ixion growled at this. How could the boy even flaunt, knowing he'd destroyed the mission and been taken down so easily?

Words could not form within Ixion's angered atmosphere and he shot forward like lightning, bringing his body low and swiping his leg under Kidd. He felt it connect with the boy and the pair toppled over, Blakely falling free from Kidd's grasp.

Ixion loomed over Kidd and reached a hand down, yanking him up by the collar of his shirt, drawing a fist back. A finishing blow. This strike would no doubt kill Kidd if it landed. And as Blakely found herself back in human form, she rubbed at her head that'd hit the floor before she comprehended the scene in front of her.

"Kidd! No!" She shrieked. How could they have been so stupid to let their guard down for even a moment? Ixion brought his fist down toward Kidd's face, and Blakely's legs, though numb with fear, took her across the room toward her partner and his assailant and she swung her right arm in an arced blow toward Ixion's ribs.

Her hand felt warm as it slipped through the soft flesh of Ixion's side and sent blood spewing out like a hot mist over the three of them. Ixion stumbled over and wilted to the floor, clutching his wounded side and wailing in pain. Blakely's face had become frozen with terror as she looked down at her own arm which had become a blade and and was glinting through Ixion's blood smeared all over the surface. She was horrified. Though she'd wanted Ixion dead, mentally she was not prepared to accept the consequences of taking a life or how that felt.  She dropped to her knees, staring down at her hands, one slowly fading back to human form, both bloodied--and it seemed the world was spinning out of her control. She felt almost like a monster in that moment and her lips trembled with her shaking body.