flameandpassion | 71 [Video] 12:20 AM.

Entry tags:

71 [Video] 12:20 AM.

[It's dark outside -- pitch black, with only the softest sound of footsteps squelching in the mud. There's the briefest flash of white as Hino Rei drops her PCD onto the ground, where it bounces lightly. The girl is sopping wet -- aftermath from the abrupt draining of the water from Adstringendum -- but her eyes are bright and she appears happy as can be.

-- and then, fire engulfs her.

It's a column of flame, and it lasts for at least twenty seconds, before it falls away to reveal Mars, in her glory, perfectly dry and unharmed. She looks down at her gloves before grinning to herself, casting a glance down at the PCD, where she notices the red light. Instead of being bothered, Mars picks up the device.]

If this place floods one more time, I'll go to the Animus myself and deliver a complaint.

[But it's hard to take the threat seriously -- Mars looks a lot happier than she has in the past week. With a final smile, the senshi clicks off the feed.

And no, she is not apologizing for waking anyone up.

You people do it to her all the time.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The second the fire constricts, Lucifer loses whatever sense of space he'd had. He's not afraid of it closing in on him; he would prefer that to being trapped. Death over a cage.

But then Jinx leaps in, startling him and he nearly seizes her, but he stops himself in time.]

Put the fire out, Jinx. [His voice is soft, but not him. He doesn't even seem to see her, though he's touching her, stroking her hair.]

No. [She leans her head against his chest, letting him pet her.]

Not until you promise not to harm Rei anymore tonight. [She looks back up at him, holding her ground.]

I'm not taking her side, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to let you kill her. The ramifications are too big.

Mars starts forward, her hands still in their position, though she is growing weaker. The blood is still pouring, after all -- but she fights to keep the fire alive. She has to. Her own death would be her own fault, but Jinx's would be, as well -- and Mars cannot allow that to happen. No one else's death will ever be her own fault.

Gabriel can get Jinx out of here. All it would take was a prayer. Castiel is already safe inside the Temple, where Lucifer can't get to him. And the senshi are much the same, though less of a target than Gabriel and Castiel would be. She could warn Hitsugaya -- or have Gabriel do it for her.

All of the options ended in Mars' ultimate death.

Her stomach twists, but she doesn't show it. Her fingers are digging into her palm with the effort of keeping the Devil ensnared.]

Jinx, go.

[She can't ask that of him. He wants to shove her away, not because he feels betrayed by her--he's beyond that, stuck on survival right now--but because he knows she can feel the slight tremor in his hands. He's masked his absolute terror perfectly otherwise.

The snakes have turned to acid in Rei's body, but Lucifer isn't even paying attention to that now. His Grace pushes against the fire; it doesn't hurt him to be burned, though if he jumps out he will die. As it is, he's just pushing against the cage, putting a strain on Rei deliberately.]

Get me out of here, Jinx.

[She feels it, and her heart just drops. It sparks something in her. Something protective. Her hands release his jacket and move up to the side of his face. She stands on her toes to press her forehead against his, looking him directly in the eye with a lot of conflicted emotions.

Damn it, she shouldn't be caring about him. She knows it. Rei's right. She should just go, but she ignores it.]

I will. I'll do it, and I promise I won't let this happen to you ever again, so long as I'm around. You gotta promise me you won't kill her. Please, my Morning Star.

I'll do whatever you need, just let the girl live.

Edited 2011-08-15 08:48 (UTC)

[The fire burns brighter, the moment the Grace pushes against it, and Mars snarls a curse underneath her breath, her limbs trembling with the effort of standing and burning with the pain of what Lucifer is doing to her. Standing is growing to be difficult -- breathing doubly so -- and Mars' vision swims before her as the pain begins to become too much for even her to stand.

But still, she fights to keep Lucifer trapped in his cage. Her breathing becomes ragged, but there is a light in her eyes, a special form of determination that Mars only wears when she is nearing the end.

She will not give up. Death first --

One knee buckles, and Mars catches herself quickly, before spitting out a venomous order.]

Go, damn it!

[Death is the preferred way for this to end, as far as Lucifer is concerned. Hearing her voice, being caught by some disgusting, pathetic ape with delusions of grandeur--

No. He can't let her live. Or the sibling who taught her this.]

If you put the fire out, Jinx, I won't hurt her anymore tonight.

[But internally he is calling to Michael. Just in case.]

[She knows the stipulation on Lucifer's words. Jinx knew she couldn't make him promise any more than that. Rubbing her thumbs along his cheekbones, she nods and gives him the smallest of smiles. Her heart is pounding in her ears. It makes her hesitate before she pulls away from Lucifer, looking to Rei.]

You're going to run and you're going to run fast.

[Which is an order that should be followed when it's coming from the girl who just saved her life. Like it was the easiest thing in the book, the sorceress snapped her fingers and the fire began to dissipate.]

[If Mars hadn't been tortured, she could have fought against the magic -- but the addition of Jinx's interference along with Lucifer's Grace and the pain wracking her body causes her ring of holy fire to flicker -- before it fractures. The seal is broken and Mars sways, stumbling backwards for a step or two, her breathing ragged, her face pale.

Fire sparks along her fingertips as Mars tries to work up the energy to conjure another ring, but the senshi can't. It had taken everything she had to control the beast in the first place -- trying it again, with so much blood loss, would be useless.

She had lost.

Just as he said she would.

And, suddenly, Mars' hands fly to her side, teeth clenched together as she hissed to herself, the pain and agony of what Lucifer had done to her finally catching up to her as the last vestiges of the fire faded. But the pain was not enough to keep Mars from spitting out:]

Why? So he can follow me and kill me there, once I get to someone who can help me?

[Mars coughs -- a thick, wet sound, and she wipes a gloved hand across her mouth. It comes off red.]

I -- am never -- running from him again.

[And finally, Mars sinks to her knees, her arms folded across her stomach as she hisses in pain, but she does not look away from Lucifer.]

What's going on?

[Lucifer looks at him, still too quiet and still to be at all put together in his mind. He wants to go, be away from here, be anywhere, but he stays where he is with his hand on Jinx's shoulder, his attention split between his brother and Rei.

He wants nothing more than to kick her until her face caves in. And he might have, if his sense of superiority and honor wouldn't have been smashed apart by breaking his word.

He takes a step closer to Michael.]

One of our brothers has been teaching tricks to trap us. [Well, most likely just to trap Lucifer and possibly Raphael, but details. He doesn't need to say what he's going to do when he finds the traitor.]

[Oh, great. If dealing with Little Miss Pride and the Devil wasn't bad enough, Pretty Boy had to step in. She opens her mouth to try and explain the situation in the most peaceful way possible, but she's relieved with Lucifer takes over. Being the diplomat is not something she's used to.

When he moves to talk to his brother, Jinx grabs Lucifer's hand and kisses it. He kept his word. Thank everything he kept his word. Now here's hoping Michael was there for damage control. She looks at him and shrugs, barely able to contain how panicked she still was.]

I was just having a tea party.

[With that, she squeezes Lucifer's hand, then walks over to Rei, glaring the other girl down. She mouths, "You are so fucking lucky." before she actually speaks.]

Then don't run. Walk. Just get back to your damn temple now.

Your siblings had nothing to do with this.

[It's a choke as Mars ignores Jinx, eyes shifting abruptly to Michael as she forces herself to stand, her entire body quivering with the effort. She had to protect Castiel and Gabriel. Nothing else mattered. Lucifer must not be allowed to touch either of them, over her dead body -- ]

Contrary -- to popular belief -- I don't need someone holding my hand to figure out how to defend myself.

[The bite in her tone is fading fast, though, and she clenches down on the inside of her cheek, to focus. Do not pass out. Do not pass out. Focus. You can do this. Do not pass out.]

I suggest leaving, Rei. While you have the chance.

[Something minute in Lucifer relaxes, hearing those words in that tone from his brother. It isn't that they need protection; for angels, intervening on each other's behalf is a sign of love, not condescension.

Personally, Lucifer is counting backward from a thousand or so, waiting until Rei is gone so he can fly off and remind himself this isn't a cage.

Except it is. All of it.

He has to shove the thoughts down, just a little longer.]

Don't lie to me, Rei. I've fought you before. This is new, and someone told you about it. It's a shame you think everyone is as deceitful as you are. I told you when I met you, you would fail.

[Nothing could make Rei listen. The girl was absolutely suicidal, and even after all Jinx had done for her. The thought briefly crosses her mind that she should have let Lucifer at the nun, but she shakes it quickly out of her mind.

With Lucifer addressing Rei, things were going to go south very quickly again. The urge to just punch the other girl out and drag her home by her feet came up. She had to suppress it like crazy. So, finally, she just hisses.]

I have done enough for you.

[With that, she goes back to Lucifer. She presses herself to him, putting her head on his chest and exhaling shakily. Now, time to make sure he didn't just grab Rei and interrogate her.]

You know it was probably Castiel. Before you took away his Grace. Why punish him again? [She wraps her arms around the Devil, just wanting tonight to be over.]

[And, the moment Jinx left to stand with Lucifer, Mars suddenly felt horrendously alone.

Lucifer, Mars could take again -- if she found a second wind. Lucifer and Michael? It was suicide. And they would pry into her mind and find the truth of where she had learned how to control her holy fire, which would put Castiel and Gabriel in danger.

Though Jinx, with that one statement, had effectively signed Castiel's notice for death row.

Her heart lodges in her throat.]

Believe what you want. I could care less. But I know your weakness. And I really don't give a damn about either of you enough to not use it.

[It's spoken quietly, and the senshi pulls herself up to stand straighter, her eyes moving between Lucifer and Michael.]

I'll leave you to your chat. Follow me if you want, but if you lay a finger on anyone I care about, I will do something about it.

[She sucks in a quick breath before moving to walk past the angels, brushing past Michael as she heads towards the Temple. She is limping, and covered in her own blood, but she stoutly refuses to look back.

She may have to retreat, but she will do so with dignity and pride, and fuck the three of you.]

Lucifer. I want to know exactly what just happened.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

71 [Video] 12:20 AM.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject