Echoes of the Past

[JxSlaughter]

The creature turned it's head up, and curled it's tail over above it's body. The water cut through the neck, tail and other areas and melted the top surface.

"No!! Attack her! That thing is MINE!" The man from the tower called as he banged his hands against the stone wall angrily, but the soldiers already knew what to do. They attacked her fiercely with no regard to the fact that she was helping them before. A man took out his sword and cut her in her side. The soldiers were now her enemy too. The man muttered to himself, "We can win this fight without her..."

If Jiru was conscious, he would have wished he told her his other secret- just as she told hers. If only she knew. Jiru didn't care for this town and wished to see it destroyed in the first place. But no, he would seem too greedy... to evil to say such a thing. But if only he did.

The lady, with her hands hazing purple remarked at Echo, "Thanks for making my job a little bit easier." The monster was weakened making it easier for her to use her magic. The soaked muddy creature was pulled apart where the wires were, but it only collapsed back into itself into a pile of mud. Though an arm was torn off, it turned into thin liquid in the distance.

The woman called out her spell and the creature was in her control now. She folded her hands in concentration, with two soldiers beside her to make sure nothing would disturb her. "Huh? Theres two minds in here... The current one is very stupid." Her hands hazed purple again for one moment. "I'll combine them so I can communicate my commands better..."

[laraine]

Echo cried out in pain as the sword hurt her side. She expected this.. but at the same time she couldn't believe they were doing all of this.

It really pissed her off.

She eyes opened, and now she could use her full powers without worrying about hurting innocents. Now they all were the enemy.

" I don't care what you do to me.." She said with a hollow voice. "But how dare you involve Jiru?" She opened her eyes and her hands began to glow. At first red, then blue, then green and finally white.

Fire erupted in the west, a twister in the south, a cascade of water in the north and spikes of earth in the east. All around her, chaos ensued. She was wounded badly and using the power ate up more of her body. But she didn't care.

She had to save Jiru...and destroy everything in sight. If anything got near her, she used her elements thoughtlessly. Soon parts of her body were glowing, no longer human.She was becoming consumed.

[JxSlaughter]

Men and women were tossed around and killed in the mercy of the elements. Bandits and the townsfolk alike. The wall and gate crumbled, people were buried among it. Even the town behind the gate suffered tremendously, as the summonings blazed in all directions.

The monster too suffered greatly as the water had already made it more liquid like. Wind whipped and lashed like razors upon it and people flew into the air like pebbles as it shredded them to pieces also. All doing so without touching it's summoner. Any of the light substance flew off the creature and painted areas black where the wind took it. But it did not leave the ground it stuck to, as the creature lost its shape and turned into a pile, clinging to Earth.

The demonic parasite's eye didn't need to come out and see the turmoil to know that it couldn't be out any longer, and yet it did bob out and turn it's red eye about to check for safety as it still longed to be outside of it's master. When the winds died, it only saw more elements coming. In fear it resided back into it's former socket. A bubble formed in the huge heap of black mud and ink. It expanded outward until it burst. Reveling Jiru without a stain of ink on or around a small radius of him. The skeleton of the man eaten before was in pieces, sticking to various groups of mud if not blown away by the wind.

He was down on his hands and knees with his eyes closed and was gasping for air. He tried to recall what happened. With his hand he felt that there was nothing covering the his left eye, so he left his hand on to make sure it would stay shut before opening his right eye. He looked around him to see winds, water, earth and fire destroying everything he could see. He was still shaken by the experience of being eaten by the monster and the happenings around him made it worse. He soon saw Echo among it all. He called to her as he ran to her side.

"Echo!!"

[laraine]

Echo saw the monster vanish revealing Jiru unharmed. She smiled to him within the chaos.

"I'm glad your okay.." She said softly.

She released her hold on the elements and the chaos stopped. But blood drenched Echo's body and thousands of dead lay around her.

She held up her hand and found her right hand no longer covered in skin, but in rock.

She closed her eyes and felt everything around her crash down as Jiru called her name and she passed out.

[JxSlaughter]

Jiru knelt close to her shocked to see that she appeared to be turning into stone. Jiru held her into a hug as his friend started drift away from him. He couldn't help but cry, even though he was trying not to.

He spoke as he held her in tears-- wondering if it would reach him, or if he would say something back. "Your going to take her now...?" He glared forward.

[laraine]

"No he won't take her now.." A voice said from behind the two. There, Sterling emerged from the dust that began to settle around them.

"That jerk will use every means he has to make sure she destroys all the bandits..then he will take her." He himself didn't fair too well. But he still had the strength to hold a sword to them both.

"Get away from that girl. She has to die now, before that demon steals her forever!" Sterling hissed and walked closer.

"Whatever she said was a lie...that was no god she made a pact with.. but a demon. She was tricked to believe she was dealing with a god...tell me does a god let its people die? Or does it save one just to put her through all kinds of misery and strife? What god is that? That thing wants her for some reason. That... Loki is no god..no matter what she believes. So let me kill her! So that fake god will not get its clutches in her!"

[JxSlaughter]

Jiru's glare turned to the boy. He matched the description of Echo's brother when she told her life story. Echo was still alive, and her brother was the only one standing-- or even breathing among the corpse filled fields other than Jiru and Echo. "Sterling, was that something the bandits brainwashed you with to make you feel no remorse when you finally kill her? Or was that a conclusion you made on your own?" The glowering never came off of Jiru's face. Everything pointed to the girl's death, it was such a cruel fact. Echo was still in Jiru's arms too, for he felt that if he let her go, it would be the last time he could ever hold her.

Jiru's mind had fully come back to him and he could see the weakness in Sterling. Jiru himself had bruises from before when the soldiers ganged up on him. It would appear the Sterling had the upper hand, for he held a sword. Jiru tried quickly articulating a plan to get himself out of this mess, but none included using his katana. Because it seemed as though someone took it while he was tied up in the tower. His uncle was the first suspect.

It seemed that only two choices lay ahead.

[laraine]

"Oh so she did tell you about me did she? Yes I am Echo's brother. And yes that is what the bandits told me after they took me from that city. But when I was a young boy before they attacked I knew something was wrong!" He stared hard at Jiru, who held Echo to him protectively.

"Echo was planned to die at 16." The word were hollow. " I heard my parents..they planned to make her a sacrifice and have me continue the family lineage. That's when I realized worshiping a deity who demands human sacrifices was wrong. That's no god but a demon inside. Everything happened because of Loki...and now he wants her again! Echo deserves to live a long life. She never deserved any of this. But I will not let him have her...If you plan to fight me, you will die too. Although..Echo will be mad since she risked everything to save you. What's your opinion on this anyway? If you really cared about her you wouldn't let her be taken away so easily. Can't you see how miserable she is?" He took a couple steps towards the two.

[JxSlaughter]

The smell of blood lingered in the air. That horrible, depressing, disgusting smell that would linger for days. Jiru felt that he no could no longer justify what had happened. It was his fault that they were dead. Since he and Echo got to the town he regretted not being able to show her his true hometown. But that feeling completely left him now. Among the corpses were some of his friends, and even the town sustained damage. He wondered if anyone would survive this, or if he would even live past this day.

Jiru looked away from Sterling, it was hard to tell him that he was starting to believe him. He felt that Echo would hate him for appearing to be so open to the possibility of her lord being a demon. Jiru felt that if Loki did take her, she would be missing out not only in what was to offered in this life-- but also the next. That was utterly unfair. Even so, he wondered if it should come down to what Echo wanted. Yet she wasn't awake now, and would not be persuaded to think otherwise after chasing her dream for so long. Sterling said that she deserved better than death, but even he wanted to kill her now.

"Why does it always have to come down to killing her?" He looked down at Echo. Her face was relaxed as she laid in his arms. "Your the last of the bandits, why don't you stop killing and regrouping... and just live peacefully with her. Has killing along side with those criminals distorted your mind?" He locked eyes with Sterling. Jiru truly believed that there would be some way around this mess.

[laraine]

"Jiru...look at her, even if she could live....her arms..she's becoming the elements that she uses. Her body can't handle the power for much longer. The reason I decided to kill her was...because she was going to die anyway whether anyone did anything or not. That body was created by that demon. He can take it whenever he wants. She made a pact with him, but even now he can still take her from us...she's trapped and the only way she can be free from him is if someone kills her before the job is complete. If I do that, there's no way he can take her." He stared hard at Jiru, begging him. "Let me end her suffering. Besides...I doubt even if she did live..no one could love her like this..and that's what she always wanted...love.." He sighed.

[JxSlaughter]

Jiru looked at Echo. "She wont be human anymore? She will turn into the elements? Nothing more tangible than the soil or wind?" Jiru shook his head. If she became a mound of soil, yes. It would be impossible for love. But if she was to just take form like a golem, there would be a kind and culture to take her in. But even that thought was a horrible fate, and it wouldn't work because Loki wanted her by any means. She would not live a life anywhere as long as Loki existed and what power would he have- to kill a deity? He was feeling ready to give her up. If anyone was to kill her... it should...

...

[laraine]

"Fools!" A voice boomed and suddenly a man stood before them. He was glowing, but he had long white hair and deep red eyes. He wore simple garments lined with gold.

"You kill that girl now..and not even I will know where she will go. You are both idiots. Do you even know what is best for her? If she dies for all I know her soul will vanish and not even be reborn." Loki looked at them both with a hard face.

"You!" Sterling turned his rage on the deity and swung his sword at the man. It passed right through the mans image and he looked at them both harshly.

"The reason she is still alive is because Sterling is still alive. We made a deal and the fact you both wish to kill her without her consent is just sickening."

"Loki, what do you want with her? Why her? Why couldn't you leave her alone?" Sterling growled.

"Whether you believe me or not Echo is important. I have to have her soul in order for things to progress. As for you Jiru.. I guess I was right about you.." he smirked. " I told Echo not to tell you, thinking about what your response to everything might be. I knew you wouldn't be able to handle this. You cant make her happy or help her, so you will just let her die and move on. In the end that's how the others were too. No one could help her, they just gave up, or they killed themselves." He sneered. "That's why I told Echo never to tell anyone about our agreement. Because in the end she would only be hurt more, whether being betrayed or having to watch those she loved die."

Sterling cursed and attacked the image again frantically.

"Sterling you will just have to live with it. If you kill her now...she will be gone...forever...either way you wont win.." Loki stated.

"Then how can I save her?" He demanded.

"That is something I cannot tell you. But I can tell you this. There is a lot more to this than meets the eye. But if you both really want to keep her on earth this badly you must be willing to make sacrifices. There is a way.."

[JxSlaughter]

The instant the god's entrance exploded upon the two, Jiru covered Echo. When he saw the light he slowly lifted himself to see the man dressed in white. His voiced boomed past him and the light was so bright, it could almost be seen even if one's eyes were closed. Jiru's left eye lifted on it's own, as if it was a person lifting the blinds to let the light in. The ink didn't spew, but the red pupil in the center of the continued to show interest in Loki just as it did when Echo's hand glowed to attack it the first time. Jiru covered it quickly before the deity or sterling could see, holding Echo steadily with his opposite arm.

The man chastised Jiru and Sterling for conversing with such thoughts. Jiru grinded his teeth. "Your a little over protective aren't you? You must have really high standards... Excuse me for not exceeding everything you would do... Mr. Deity.", said Jiru in a mocking tone.

"As if I'd easily hand her over to you, or her brother." He put Echo down gently, stood and looked down at her. He spoke to Sterling, "You denied your sister's desires and became one of the bandits..." "And you..." he slowly looked up the the god and pointed at him, reviling his staring red eye which was locked onto the man in gold. "Echo has been hurt so much and maybe I can't make her happy but at least I tried. How much have you made her happy? Every time she was betrayed, every time she had to exclude herself was because of you, and what you wanted!!"

"Everyone wants something... Sterling wants Echo to be free from your grasp, you want Echo's body and soul, Echo wants love and I want to live a peaceful life. It all works in a line- and I think, that line should end where you start!"

[laraine]

"Oh? So the boy has a spine, I'm surprised." Loki mocked, looking down at him. "Of course with that demon eye I'm not surprised. I wonder if you can even save yourself with that parasite. And I do wonder how you feel about our dear Echo. You obviously don't love her. But yet, you feel the need to protect her. Even though you would rather not be here. You want to run away, you said so yourself. You want a peaceful life. You won't find it here boy. Leave now, forget you ever met Echo."

Echo slowly started to awaken and opened her eyes, looking up at the three men who entered her life. She slowly sat up, looking at them all. "What's going on?" She asked.

[JxSlaughter]

Jiru stepped forward to face the man who was insulting him. "You think you know everything... you and your kind. That's why I hate deities! Just because I love something more, doesn't mean I love anything else less. I do love Echo! I want to protect her even though I may want to be somewhere else and do my own things. But... when you love someone you put them first... I'm here... for Echo." He heard Echo behind him, just then. His emotions were torn in that spot. He was glad she was okay, but a part of him didn't want her to hear what he said or to look at his face. He slowly turned his head back to see her. His demonic left eye ogled at her which was far more open than his human eye was.