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The Sea Caves, Sunday Morning

The waves washed up on the beach. The ceaseless sound of the sea had filled the ears of the temporary residents of the cave as they fell asleep and it was there in the morning, marking the pace of the ocean. Today the sun shone, it's light reflecting and moving with the shifting water. Seabirds cried out, the smell of salt and seaweed was carried with the wind. It was an Easter Sunday morning, just like any other morning by the sea. Danyel drew circles with a stick in the sand, the cat called Altra pacing next to him. He wasn't crying now, but the dried tears from last night made his face sting. His mother wasn't coming back; those who had killed her were.

Then in a second there was a shift, small but noticeable. From across the water a silence approached. The sun seemed brighter; its light appeared to grow stronger. Danyel looked up, frowning but curious. The wind slowed down into stillness, and at first the sea seemed to grow calmer. Then its surface changed to cold, bright white. It was turning to ice. The air was freezing too, stinging Danyel's face even more than the tears.

There were no sounds anymore, as if the bright, cold light was absorbing it. When a figure appeared walking towards them from the horizon, no noise was heard.

Altra looked up and hissed, ears flattened, and he shouldered in front of the boy. :Danyel, run. Get to Anakin.:

Danyel took a step back, then another one. Then he froze, unable to take his eyes off the angel.

Pyriel	The angel stretched out a hand towards the boy and smiled. In his other hand he carried a claw-like weapon. But even without that, there was nothing generous in his gesture at all, and the smile could just as well have been a sneer. "Did you think you could escape?" he said, his voice soft, beautiful and chillingly cold.
Danyel	Danyel opened his mouth to speak, to cry for help, but no sound came out, as if the cold had swallowed his voice.
Pyriel	There was a guardian of some kind, shaped like an animal like the false gods of the Egyptians. Pyriel turned his head and raised his open hand. A cold rush of air sent Altra flying back towards the cave. Then he lowered his hand again, making a circular gesture. A boundary cut through the ice around him and the boy. "I don't like intruders," he said.
Danyel	Danyel swallowed. "Did you kill my mother?"
Pyriel	"No," the angel replied. "But I will kill you." He took a few steps forward, lowering the weapon.
Danyel	The boy instinctively stumbled backwards, never taking the eyes of the creature in front of him. He moved swiftly, like a child used to playing out of doors, but this was no game. He needed to get back to the cave where the others could protect him. Suddenly turning he dashed towards it, only to be knocked back at the circle in the ice. He was trapped in an invisible cage.
Pyriel	A chilling laugh cut through the silence. Pyriel watched Danyel like a cat would its prey, and like a cat he seemed intent on playing first. He took a step backwards and suddenly reappeared behind the boy.
Danyel	Danyel gasped. He flung himself in the other direction, stumbling over the ice. His ears filled with the sound of the angel laughing, and it wouldn't stop, even though the laugh had.
Pyriel	This wasn't only a game though. Victory was certain, it would happen, but the Nephilim didn't know what was to come. He needed to. Pyriel stopped in front of the boy sprawled on the ground. "Your death with mark the beginning of my reign," he said.
Danyel	Danyel's vision split in two. The icy sky and the angel in front of him were the same, but when he lowered his gaze he found that the ground had turned to piles of corpses. Wherever he looked, there was nothing but dead bodies. Some of them even carried the face of his mother. The fear that had paralysed him and then made him run turned still like the ice. After this, there could be nothing. He was just a child, but with the perception of a child he could see that this future could have no end. He stared up at Pyriel, his face blank.
Pyriel	Pyriel raised the claw-like weapon. A Nephilim, like an angel, needed his heart removed for death to be permanent, and this tool was specifically designed for that purpose.
Danyel	Like the clawed foot of a bird of prey. Danyel stared up. He grabbed the weapon, like he had done when the other boys in school had tried to beat him up. He had been stronger than them, and they had finally left him alone. The angel wouldn't. With the force of anger, grief and desperation, he pushed to his feet.
Pyriel	Pyriel gasped and his eyes widened. The shaft of the weapon had been pushed backwards, unexpectedly, and with a strength he hadn't foreseen. It had pushed through his chest. Not lethal for an angel, but still... Not according to the plan.
Danyel	The angel stared at him, blood trickling from his chest. Swiftly Danyel got to his feet and spun around. The shaft of the weapon extruded from Pyriel's back and he grabbed hold of it, clinging to it and tugged hard. It was pulled thought the angel's body and the claw reappeared, the heart of the angel caught in it.
Pyriel	Pyriel screamed and it cut thought the silence. This was not the plan. He had returned to rule and now... But there were no more thoughts. His body froze and remained for a few seconds until a gust of wind pushed through the stillness, turning it to icy dust.

[NFB, locked to the people in the cave.]

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Thrown by a completely unfamiliar power, Altra crashed back into the cave, sliding across the rocky ground on his side, and slammed into the wall.

It knocked him senseless, and he lay limply on the ground.

Gabriel leapt up on to a nearby rock and crouched, his eyes fixed on Pyriel and the kid. There was nothing he could do now, it was in the hands of those two, or possibly God should he chose to care.

Edited 2008-03-23 12:36 (UTC)

Karal froze, eyes wide with shock, torn between his need to go to Altra and his need to know what was happening.

A quick glance out the cave mouth and he knew. "Professor!" he yelled, and dropped to his knees in front of Altra, reaching out to gather up the Firecat.

There was nothing he could do to help Danyel, and he was smart enough to know it. He hugged Altra's limp form to his chest and turned to stare at the figures. "Vkandis, help him. He's just a boy."

Evey had armed herself, should it be needed, and immediately hurried over to Karal and Altra. "We need to stay back," she said, staring out at the events unfolding before them. "We can't do anything."

He nodded mutely, clutching Altra closer, leaning into Evey just the tiniest amount.

"The cat's ok?" Gabriel actually looked concerned, but it might be because Altra in his mind had been the most important protection against Pyriel.

Karal shook his head. "He's unconscious." But Altra was starting to stir, groggy, but waking up.

:Bastard angels,: was thready but clear in Karal's head. :Where's the boy?:

"Out there," Karal answered in a shaky voice. "With the angel."

Never had Anakin's need to stretch his legs been so mistimed. "I'm going out there," he said as returned, voice icy, as he began to move towards the entrance of the cave.

Karal bit his lip and watched him out of wide eyes.

Altra lifted his head, blue eyes fixed on Anakin. :Go. I don't think you'll be able to get to them, but go. Try.:

Jaw set, Anakin raced towards the daylight and Danyel.

Halfway there he bounced--hard--off of the forcefield.

Uncomfortably reminded of graduation when he hadn't been able to get to someone else who needed his protection, for once Anakin didn't hold back on using the full scope of the powers the Force had given him.

He closed his eyes and spread out his awareness, trying to figure what the forcefield was made of: and more importantly, how to short circuit it.

He was being offered no clues, so he went for the universal can opener.

"A lightsaber cuts through almost anything," he muttered to himself, slashing at the forcefield with the weapon.

It...wasn't working.

Evey peeked out from the front of the cave, a tiny, fuzzy, neon green ball clutched tightly in her hand. It was small, but it'd buy time as she needed.

Her other hand fumbled for Karal's.

Karal caught her hand, squeezing it tightly, wincing as Altra struggled around in his arms to see, inadvertently scratching his arm.

:Vkandis-damned angels!: He hissed at the fight, and Karal held him tighter, face completely white.

"He's going to die," he whispered. "We were supposed to keep him safe." Karal was praying harder than he'd ever prayed in his life.

"He won't," Evey breathed, brown eyes wide and unblinking as she stared out. "He can't."

Karal just shook his head, knowing that nothing short of a miracle could save Danyel. He was just a boy, and that was an avatar of a god, who'd been strong enough to knock Altra flying, who'd blocked Anakin from reaching them.

He kept praying, could feel sparks like small lightning crackling over Altra's fur and he clung to Evey's hand. Unbidden, the thought of what would come after Danyel was dead demanded his attention.

He prayed harder, eyes half closed, because he didn't want to see what would happen, but he owed it to the boy to at least bear witness.

"Sunlord!" It was hazy, half-seen, but the fight was suddenly over, Danyel half obscured in a floating haze of white.

And a black shadow touched him and Altra, dragging his attention away for brief seconds to stare at Gabriel (http://community.livejournal.com/fandomtownies/2623286.html?thread=115555382#t115555382).

"Oh my god." It happened so fast, and she didn't understand it, but it was over. Evey stared, her breath short in spite of hardly doing a thing. "I...oh my god. Is he okay? Are you?"

Karal stepped back towards Evey, just staring at Gabriel, while Altra twisted in his arms and fell, hitting the floor hard. He raced towards the sand, and stopped when he saw Anakin and Danyel.

:I don't think he's okay,: he said slowly.

Karal glanced back at Gabriel, who seemed more bemused than anything by their reactions, and then squeezed Evey's hand again. "We'd best go and find out," he said quietly, heart sinking as he followed Altra's gaze.

"Physically," Evey said softly, relating just a smidge too much, "he looks all right. But that's never the important bit."

Gabriel stared up at the sky for a moment, then nodded. He sat perched on the rock from which he had watched the fight, and he remained there, quite still. Lowering his gaze to Danyel he smiled and stretched out his huge black wings. His senses returned: he could see, smell and feel like angels did again. An still something was different. He glanced at Karal, still smiling, and folded the wings again. They turned into a dark shadow and then disappeared.

Stumbling back a step, Altra still clutched in his arms, Karal stared at Gabriel, eyes wide. "Gabriel?"

Sunlord, there had been wings.

"Well, that went better than I thought." Gabriel jumped down from the rock, his movement faster than usual. "I need a coffee."

Altra twisted out of Karal's unresisting arms. :Damn your coffee, where's the boy?:

"Oh, he's over there," Gabriel said, nodding towards Danyel, who stood on the beach and stared at the heart still stuck in the claw.

The second the shield went down, Anakin went racing for Danyel, dropping to his knees to take away the claw.

"I don't think we need that now," he said, looking into the boy's eyes and trying to assess damage.

They were completely blank, as if there was no one home any more, but he clutched the front of Anakin's robes like a life line.

And he whimpered, just once.

Anakin pulled Danyel towards him. "It's over now," he whispered, holding on tightly.

The whimpering turned into a high pitched keen and Danyel struggled, trying to get away, trying to get away so he could run, run and hide and stay hidden.

Anakin wasn't letting go. "You don't have to run," he murmured.

Danyel didn't believe him, but he couldn't get away.

Eventually, he went limp against Anakin, completely boneless, nearly unresponsive, and his eyes were utterly blank.

Evey let go of Karal's hand only to approach Danyel, to kneel a little so she could meet the little boy's eyes over Anakin's shoulder.

She'd seen that kind of hollowness in her own reflection for far too long. "You don't have to run. You're safe," she said, very softly. "No one here is going to trick you or trap you or hurt you."

Danyel didn't react beyond a flinch when she came into sight, and then he just stared at her, unblinking.

Kaarl stopped a few feet away, heart sinking, then looked down at Altra. What passed between them wasn't heard by anyone else, and it passed at the speed of thought, and then Altra was limping closer.

:Karal wants to know if you can do anything to soften the memory of this for him,: he said, only for Anakin to hear. :Take it away all together. I can if you can't. It will be problematic if I do it, but the boy will break if he remembers this.:

Edited 2008-03-24 04:08 (UTC)

He's too young to have this on his conscience, Anakin agreed, closing his eyes as he placed his hand on the top of the boy's head, searching through Danyel's memories and gently removing the most recent.

Evey looked from Altra to Anakin to Danyel, then back to Karal. "What are they doing?" she asked, confused and feeling a little bewildered by the whole experience.

Sounding tired and heartsick, Karal kept his eyes on them. "I asked Altra to see if Danyel's memories could be softened, if this--" He waved a hand around them, catching Gabriel's eye as he - I guess he's an angel again, now - came out of the cave to stare at them all. "--if he could be freed from all of this. That is what they are doing."

Edited 2008-03-24 04:19 (UTC)

Evey stared. "I -- is that ethical?" She flicked her gaze back to Danyel, and softly said, "It might shape who he is. But maybe it's better this way."

"I don't know, Evey, but I believe it is right." Sunlord, please let it be right. He fumbled after her hand. "Sometimes that is all we can follow. He deserves a chance to live as normal a life as he can."

Anakin opened his eyes and moved his head to try to see Danyel's face.

"Doing all right?" he asked softly.

Anything but that haunted little look would be progress.

Danyel was looking at him, half-suspicious, half-curious, but his eyes were bright. He didn't try to get away, just craned his neck, looking all around him. "Do Jawas live at the beach?" he asked quietly.

Anakin smiled--pure relief--and tousled Danyel's hair. "No," he said, leading Danyel back towards the rest of the group. "They live in the desert. Lots of sand, but no water."

Because there's an OCD!

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The Sea Caves, Sunday Morning

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