Adult-FanFiction.org : Cartoons

What Is Your Center?	By : LuciferDragon Category: +M through R > Rise of the Guardians Views: 1676 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Rise of the Guardians world, and I make no profit at all from this fiction.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
I had expected devastation upon my return, due to how long it had felt I had been gone. Instead I still heard the clashing of weapons and the calls of a heavy battle. We emerged from the Void into the woods close to the park. I couldn’t see anyone, but the sounds were deafening. I dismounted and moved to help Tia down. “This way.” I led her across the snow-covered fields, following the only clues I had to the others. We had to avoid many dead snakes, as well as the bodies of additional fallen goatmen.
I could clearly see Tia’s pained expression in the light of the moon. “He did all this…”
I nodded, pushing forward. “No time to dwell on it. Come on.” We followed the noises through the thick trees following a freshly drawn trail of blood in the once-white snow. An inhuman cry ripped through the night right ahead of us. Before we broke through the brush, we saw that the trees gave way to a clearing. North drove his sword up through a goatman’s jaw, yanking it out once it penetrated the thing’s skull. With it downed, the five pressed their backs together in a circle, looking for any other opponents.
As I was about to bring Tia into the clearing, Lucifer himself came out of the shadows, approaching the Guardians. “You are stubborn, I’ll give you that. However, it is getting late, isn’t it Santa Claus? Ten at night, by my calculations. I hope you can reach all the children of the world in time.” His teeth reflected the moonlight as he grinned. “That is, if you can get back to that sleigh of yours.”
I felt Tia grip my arm tightly. I couldn’t blame her for whatever she must have been feeling. She had gone so long without seeing the man she loved, and when she finally could have the chance, she saw him as a shell of his former self. “This isn’t right…”
I could only nod at her fearful whisper. Even though I liked Tia, and wanted nothing but her happiness, I wanted Lucifer dead. He deserved it for everything he had done. For… for his death. I clenched my teeth together to steady myself. I looked away from the clearing. One person was going to end up hurt this night.
I refused to let Tia be that person. “Stay here.”
“What will you do?”
“Whatever I have to. When I motion for you, come out. Until then, stay put.” Once sure she understood, I emerged from the trees. “Lucifer, you have to stop.”
His gaze turned to me and I swallowed my rage. His grin only broadened. “So the coward returns. I had thought you would have fled for good after I killed that boogeyman of yours.” He gave a deep growl of a laugh that only snapped another thread of my control. “Such a shame he didn’t get a chance to say his final words while you were around. I’m sure they would have been… sentimental.”
“You obviously didn’t know him that well.” I summoned my scythes to my sides again. “This is your last warning. Call off this whole thing, and I’ll let you walk away from this unscathed.”
He laughed as the others looked at me incredulously. I could see them trying to make sense of everything. “The Guardians and the Boogeyman were no match for me and my army. What makes you think you’ll fare any better?”
I looked to the trees and nodded. “I have a weapon the others didn’t have.”
He followed my gaze and I could see his entire demeanor falter. “Lucretia?”
Tia came into the clearing, giving off a slight ethereal glow. “Tucian.” She smiled sadly. “It’s been too long, my love.”
He took a tentative step forward. “It’s… it can’t be. I had thought you moved on. I couldn’t find you. I looked everywhere. It can’t…” He looked to me, his sneer returning. “How dare you trick me with Lucretia’s image? I’ll send you to your grave once and for all, witch!” He moved to strike me and I had to dodge out of the way of his sword.
I hadn’t expected that reaction. I wasn’t even sure what I had expected. The others tried to move forward to help, but I called to them to stay put and protect Tia. Lucifer was my target and mine alone. I crossed my scythes in front of me, catching his sword as he tried to drive it down. “It really is Tia! Look closely! I brought her here for you, you son of a bitch!” The metal screamed as I drew the scythes apart, pushing his sword back just long enough to roll out of the way.
“You lying whore! I’ll see to it I kill you myself, just like I killed your lover!”
His strikes increased in velocity. I couldn’t keep up. I parried every attack I could and countered when I had the opportunity, but he only blocked and parried as well.
My scythes were caught on his sword and he drew his boot up to deliver a blow to my stomach. I had no way of blocking it, and was sent back into the snow. I felt the sharp shock of cold run through me. I rolled over and tried to scramble for my fallen weapons.
Lucifer kicked them away from my grasp and shifted to kick my stomach again, sending me to my back as an explosion of pain racked my entire being. I went blind for a moment, and couldn’t hear much besides a dull ringing. The pain came again and again as he carried out blow after blow, more than I could handle.
As soon as it all started, it stopped. I opened my eyes to see the moonlight staring back at me, albeit blurry.
A dark shadow blocked my view. The light reflected off a shining surface, hitting my vision as the shadow cleared to show Lucifer standing his sword over me, his sword ready to be driven down. I had no fight left in me. I was willing to die at that point. You won’t be alone for long, love…
“I’ll make sure your soul is tormented after it is severed from your body.”
I felt blood rise up in my throat and I coughed it up uselessly, flinching at the thick copper tang. He must have punctured something. “So long as… so long as I don’t have to listen to your voice.”
“No, that would be too easy for a deceitful witch like yourself.” His grin shined through the night again. “I think I’ll have you… hang around for a few thousand years.” His laughter echoed through the night, heightening my anxiety.
“The-the villagers were right to kill you. You’re a monster.”
“Yes I am!” He pulled back to strike and I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain to rip through my body.
It never came. I looked to see Tia’s arms wrapped around his waist, holding him back from delivering the killing blow. “Please, Tucian. Stop all this. Why must they all die?”
“The world needs to remember who I am, what I am capable of,” he replied, sounding almost unsure of himself.
“But why? Tucian, this isn’t you. This isn’t who you are.”
“Tucian is dead. I am Lucifer.”
“I don’t care!” Even I almost jumped at her shout, if I wasn’t in so much pain. “Tucian or Lucifer, whoever you are, why does the world need to die to remember who you are? What will there be to remember when they’re all dead, in your realm?”
Lucifer’s sword fell slightly. “They need to remember.”
“They need to live to remember.” She let go of his waist and stood between myself and him. “Tell me this. What would you do after? What would you do when the whole world was at your command?”
He tried to answer, but found he couldn’t.
After a few moments of silence, Tia took his hands in hers, pulling his sword from his weakened grasp. “Tucian, please. Let this go.”
“If no one remembers, then who am I?”
“You are Tucian. My lover. The man who cares most for me.” She pulled the chain out of her dress again. His gaze immediately fell to it. “Please Tucian. Let’s move on.”
“I-I can’t. Tia, I can’t. What if—“
Despite the situation, she let out a huff of a laugh. “What if, what if. Is that what you’ve been reduced to lingering on? So long as one person remembers your name, you will never be forgotten.” She pulled him into a tight embrace. “You will never be alone.”
The night air went silent and heavy as a cold breeze passed through, easing some of my pain.
“I remembered you all this time. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
“It does, but—“
“There is no more to fight about.” She gestured to me. “This woman has given me the chance to move on from this world. I am no longer bound to it. It is my choice where I go.”
If a soul was as pure as hers, she had an instant pass to cross over to the other realm once she let go of her regret. However, she also had a choice to follow Lucifer into his realm.
“If you continue this madness, I will cross over to the other realm, and you will never see me again.” She took his face in her hands and made him look at her. Despite her being a head and a half shorter than him, he still allowed it. “Don’t make me do that, Tucian. I don’t want to, but I will. Make your choice.”
I was shocked she was willing to make such a sacrifice. This was the first time she had seen the man she loved in several thousand years. Yet here she was, ready to give all of that up just to save the rest of the world.
After what seemed like hours, Lucifer finally answered. “Let’s go home, Tia.” Without another word, he faded away with Lucretia, leaving the six of us alone in the woods.
A few moments of silence passed. “What just happened?” I said to the sky, still hurting quite a bit, though the snow helped.
“I think… I think we won,” Jack breathed from somewhere to my right.
I wanted to cheer. It just didn’t seem right. “At what cost?” I saw a hand reach out and I took it, feeling an instant familiar chill. Jack helped me to my feet and kept me steady as a sharp pain racked my bruised ribs. They all had a reason to cheer. Why weren’t they?
“I’m so sorry, Hana,” he whispered, and the others approached us, heads bowed.
I nodded and wiped the blood from my lips. “At least we won. That’s what matters.”
Limping footsteps fell in the snow in the trees, faint at first. Then it grew louder, closer. The others drew their weapons again, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. Lucifer may have been gone, but that didn’t mean one of his goatmen couldn’t have been left behind. My anxiety mounted as it got louder, right behind the trees. I was defenseless, and I knew everyone was on their last legs. We would not be able to handle another assault.
My legs almost gave out from under me as a tall figure emerged from the trees, almost in much pain as I was. I couldn’t believe it. There was no way…
I lightly pushed away from Jack, nearly falling as soon as he let me go, both from pain and my seemingly boneless legs. “It can’t—Powers above, is it really you?”
He could only grin, his pale eyes shining in the moonlight. “Took a while to find you all. I take it we’ve won?”
- 16
- 17
- 18
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

What Is Your Center?