Defeat of the Lions: Cara's Lament! Cara vs Adonis

Defeat of the Lions Arc 'Cara's Lament! Cara vs Adonis'

Previously...

''"You'll suffer the same fate of your useless friend. Surrender now and your death won't be as gruesome." he said in a monotone voice. Cara looked to Reed's unconscious being. "It looks like I have no choice. I have to fight him!" Cara thought to herself. She stood up, her face scrunched in anger at what her opponent had said about her friend.''

''"I'll make you regret those words!" Cara roared as she drew her sword and lunged at him, beginning her own battle.''

"Feisty, aren't we-" Adonis began but was cut off by his opponent's screams of rage. '"Pixie Dust!" 'called out Cara as she sent a gust of sparkled dust towards Adonis, trapping him in it. Adonis looked at his predicament and his eyebrows rose in amusement.

"Oh, so you're a Fairy Magic user. I may be at a disadvantage, but no matter." he grunted and got his hands free. "Heavenly Body Magic! Jiu Leixing!" he called out, surprising Cara.

''"So he's a multiple spell user, this could put me in a bind." ''she thought to herself. Suddenly, nine swords of lighting appeared around her and pierced her, causing her to screech in agony.

"Cara!" grunted Haru as he watched his female teammate suffer from his position in the air. Quickly, he freed his hands and clapped them together, releasing a pulse of darkness energy. The move struck Gia and was enough to make her lose focus on holding him in the air with her own darkness magic. She cried out and held her hands to her face, trying to soothe the pain.

With the grace of a cat, Haru landed on his feet and took the window of time he had to rush to his partner's aid. "Cara! I'm coming, hold on!" he called out to her as he ran in her direction.

Gia removed her hands from her face and felt a stinging feeling accompanying it. Her face contorted in anger and she roared. "You'll pay for that, scum!" she seethed. "Soul Extinctor!" she screamed at him.

Haru's rescue was cut short as he was knocked back by the dark blast. "Haru! No!" she groaned in pain. She managed to lift a hand of her own and called another spell.

"Pixie Dust: Wings!" she managed to speak as she was freed by the lightning onslaught. Two large wings appeared behind her, allowing her to float in the air and glare at her opponent from below.

"Ah, it seems you care a great deal about your friends." noted Adonis. Cara's glare only intensified and she drew her sword, fully intending to end the battle. '"Pixie Flair!" 'she roared as she charged at Adonis from the air.

The blow managed to effect him as his body met the cool pavement of the guild's built in bar. The glasses behind him broke and the shards scrambled around, one landing on his forehead and cutting him a bit. Adonis hissed as he stood up, fully intending to pay her back for the whollup she packed.

"You're good, but I can tell you're not normally this good." he panted, his voice dripping with arrogance. Cara's glare hardened as she gripped her sword. Adonis smirked as he knew his taunts were getting to her, revealing her weak point.

"That sword. There's something about that spell you just used that wasn't right." he said with certainty. Cara's eyes transformed and became wide and vulnerable. "There it is." he thought to himself, his suspicions confirmed. "Check and mate." He decided to go further with his interregation.

"I've seen that spell before," he added. "There's supposed to be more power in your sword, so why didn't you hit me with all of it?" he asked, malice slipping into his features.

Cara's eyes remained wide and her gaze was still vulnerable. She glanced at the sword that remained tight in her grasp and quickly dismissed it from her sight as if it was a horrible bug. Unfortunately, it was too late. He had already figured it out. Adonis smirked as he figured out his way to victory.

"Let's just see how afraid you really are. Nightmare." he said as he snapped his fingers. Cara became entrapped in a orb of darkness so strong it had managed to take her wings away. She held her head as the energy swarmed her, unable to bear its force.

And then everything went black.

When she awoke, she was outside her childhood village.

The birds sang their usual tunes, people carried carts of vegetables and children kicked a ball around, making up rules for their game as they went. Admist all the play and chores, a man walked along a dirt road carrying bags of groceries.

And she was there, holding the katana.

But at the same time it wasn't her. He had told her to do it. He held her and it was as if she had become a puppet. She watched herself jab her sword into the stomach of the civillian, heard him scream for help. She watched as he controlled her into repeatedly stabbing his body. She heard him laugh as she glided the sword along his arm, causing a pool of crimson to come forth.

She tried to divert herself from these actions but her body did not respond. It was as if she had been glued to that very spot but her arms moved as if they were made of liquid. She couldn't stop unless he stopped her.

When she awoke, it was all her fault. People had gathered around the crime scene and stared at her in horror. The man who controlled her replaced his snarky grin for a terrified mask. "Look what you've done!" he had said. "Monster!" he had said.

It wasn't long before the people she once called family repeated the same mantra. She fell to her knees under the sea of crimson, the vulnerable look fresh in her eyes. The faces shouting at her became darker and reached for her. They shoved her face into the crimson and tore her hair.

''"No...please.." ''

They picked up the katana.

"No..it wasn't me..."

They grabbed her by the hair and let the blade rest at her neck.

"Please..."

"NOOOOOOOO!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Cara screamed, writing in agony of her nightmare. Tears glided down her cheeks in groups. She was too far gone in the reality of her nightmare that she did not notice the dark orb around her was long gone and she was sitting on her calves in front of Adonis.

He watched as she writhed, pleased that his strategy had worked. "She could be trapped in this loop forever," he said to himself. Deciding that her fate had already been sealed, he went to assist Gia in tying down Haru for good.

"I...I...can't...I'm....sorry...!" Cara sobbed as she treked through the nightmare. She wasn't as far as she thought, she noted, as she felt a hand grab her arm and pull her against something hard and squeezed her into an embrace.

Her tears continued to fall as she looked up at the person who held her. The person held her head to his chest and allowed her to cry. Instantly, she recognized the hard feeling of his gloves and was able to identify the comforter.

"R-Reed...?" she sniffled. She dug her face further into his chest and sighed, letting the sobs wrack her body. Reed held her tighter. "You don't have to be afraid anymore Cara." he said, his voice hard. "It wasn't your fault. That bastard made you do it."

She shook her head and her body trembled. "No...but I-" she began.

"But nothing." he finished for her. "Cara, you mean so much to me...and I'll be damned if you let this consume you. And if it does...then take me down with you." he whispered angrily.

Cara gasped lightly as she took in his stare. He was here for her. He was determined to continue to stay with her, even after what "she" had done. He stared back at her, comfort and determination swimming in his eyes.

"So will you stay?" he prodded, knowing she knew what he meant. He dried her tears as she smiled at him and the two nodded.

"Took you long enough, Adonis." Gia said scornfully, as she held Haru down. "Never took you as a dumpster diver."

Her comrade rolled his eyes. "Whatever, let's finish this already. Abraham doesn't like to dawdle." he said summoning his finishing blow. He took in a deep breath when suddenly he was wrapped in wires.

"What?! Who dares-!" he roared out but was interrupted by the flames accompanying the wires.

"Adonis!" Gia called, letting her focus slip. Haru used this window of time as an opening and flung her back. Quickly, he summoned a spell to trap her.

"Stitches of Fate!" he yelled, trapping her in a cage made of dark energy. "Cara! Do it now!" he yelled hurriedly.

Gia gripped the bars and watched the scene before her unfold. She cried out in agony. "No! Adonis! Let me out!" she screamed. Haru snapped his fingers and sharp ends of the cage pierced her skin. "Auugh!" she wailed.

"Cara!" Reed called out. "I can't hold him much longer! Do it!" he yelled hurriedly.

"Right!" Cara nodded. She put her arm in the air and began charging energy. Adonis wriggled in the encasings of the wire but only managed to burn himself even more. He winced at the wires digging into his skin.

"You bastards!" he roared. "You'll pay!" he seethed. However, Cara wasn't listening. A familiar enchantation reached the ears of her partners and they wore matching grins.

"Gather! O river of light that's guided by the fairies! Shine! In order to perish the fangs of evil! Fairy Glitter!"

A bright flash of light soared onto Adonis, nearly tuning out his screams and Gia's calls of his name as she lay on the ground detransformed. Reed quickly withdrew his wires as he was beginning to get dragged into the blast and took cover along with Haru.

The explosion of light died down and was replaced with a cloud of smoke. Cara panted in exhaustion and fell back onto her heels.

"Cara!" her partners called for her. They stood by her side, standing proudly.

"You were amazing!" Reed gushed.

"I didn't expect any less of you, Cara." Haru congratulated her in his special way. However, their celebration was cut short as they heard a groan. The cloud of smoke from Cara's blast finally cleared to reveal Adonis' body.

His dress shirt was torn at the sleeves, his tie long gone and his pants were in tatters. Reed's eyes widened at his state. "But how-? Wha-? HUH!?" Reed tried to form words but they wouldn't come out.

"You're evil, how did you survive? Fairy Glitter is supposed to destroy any evil it strikes." Haru explained for him. Reed vigorously nodded his head in confirmation of what he had been trying to say. "Yeah that!" he confirmed.

Cara stood up and began to walk to Adonis' body. "Uh? Cara?" Reed said confused.

"Don't you see?" Cara began as she squatted down next to his body. Adonis' glare hardened as she approached him.

"Don't you touch me! Only my moth-" he bit out but the malice in his voice disappeared at what he was about to say. Cara nodded in understanding.

"Your soul isn't evil." she explained aloud. "You have love in your heart, that's why you survived." she said, smiling at him.

Adonis tried to form another glare, but his eyes slowly filled with tears. "D-Dammit!" he bit out. "I did it..for..." he trailed off, his exhaustion catching up to him and forcing him to sleep.

Haru and Reed watched the scene and smiled. "She always has that aura about her huh?" Haru said to his best friend.

"Yeah...she's amazing." Reed said, a blush forming on his fair skin.

Haru smirked at his friend's state. "So take me with you, huh?" he reminded him of what he said in a teasing voice.

"OI SHUT UP!" Reed cried out as his face turned as red as his own flames.