End with a Bang

Now that the beating on the underboat had finally ceased, the beautiful scientist and the Alaron sat in silence for a moment.

The promise that Dania had made to kill the Guardian if he started to turn hung in the air. Alaron wondered if she was angry with him for forcing her into such a proposal.

Was it selfish of him to want to die rather than take her life? No, but asking Dania to do the deed had been unfair.

'Necessary,' Alaron had to correct his own thinking. 'If I start to go, I will be unable to stop myself.'

Still, the way the woman was looking at him broke him inside. "You look at me as if I'm already gone." He gave her a smile to prove he was very much alive and in his right mind.

"No, I am stubbornly willing you to be alright." Dania pursed her lips bravely. Behind her steely look, she, too, felt like she was breaking.

The scientist was concerned that if she told the man with her about his condition, he might force her to kill him then and there.

The bite on his neck, which had started as just two tiny holes, was growing progressively larger even as Dania stared. The punctures were enlarging at an alarming rate, already nearing the size of the Empress's head on the back of her coins.

From the wound, fetid purple pus oozed like it had a life of its own. If the scientist had to guess, now that the actual fighting was over, Alaron's body was drained of its resources and the poison was better able to do its work.

Following her gaze, the Guardian's hand moved to his neck. He ran his fingers across the wound and looked at the tainted blood.

"I suppose that's a bad sign," he said with a shrug. "But I'm not done for yet. You told me I'm not allowed to go feral, and I am working on obeying orders better."

The tension in the woman's face did not lessen as her eyes darted away. There was so much she wanted to say, but she could not find the words.

It was just as well for Alaron. He was not sure he could stand hearing what words she might speak. Strong emotions were the enemy right now. He needed to remain calm.

But a burning sensation was passing through every part of his body. What started out as a dull pain which only flared up when his injuries were aggravated had slowly grown into a deep, unending torture.

The only reason Alaron was able to keep his composure was the fact that he had endured far worse pain both when he had been saved by the healing water and when he had become a Guardian. Though the pain he was enduring now was slowly creeping to that level.

That is not to say he wasn't putting up a good fight. He suddenly understood what Renat meant when he said he had to let the darkness in. There was a pressure on his brain and body that beckoned him to concede control. Alaron struggled against the assault on his mind and body, mentally keeping the feelings of dread at bay.

But at the same time, Alaron and Renat's battles were quite different. While Renat had had nothing to ward off the transformation, Alaron had the Fate's elixir running through his veins. Or perhaps it was from the Maker himself. The Guardian had no way of knowing for sure.

What he did know is that for every bit of force he put in to fight the curse, something else added a little bit extra to his strength. Much like Nanny, the perversion wanted to overtake him, but just couldn't seem to gain the edge and complete its task.

Until something changed.

Alaron's smile at the beautiful scientist went from pained to strained. The Guardian screamed in agony as he grabbed his neck and leg with different arms.

His wounds began to glow softly as the purple veins surged across his skin. His face became ashy pale, turning grey before the woman's eyes.

"Kill me!" he begged Dania. "Kill me before it was too late for you!"

The lady clutched the dagger in her hand, her own face paling as her eyes swirled with color. "I can't," she admitted.

Alaron screamed again, his deep timber echoing a thousand times against the underboat's walls. "Do it. I don't have the control to do it myself."

The man was still fighting, but he could feel a surge within himself beyond what he was capable of handling. He needed to be put down before it was too late.

The brunette lifted her hand, the knife glinting dangerously above the Guardian's chest. She watched the wounds glow. That was a new development. Was it because he was a Guardian or did Yumeto's version of the poison have a new side effect?

Dania did not know. What she did know is that the soft light mesmerized her to the point she almost forgot her task.

"Come on now. Don't make me keep the Maker waiting!" Alaron pulled her from her thoughts as he writhed until he fell off of the bench onto the floor.

Dania's hand shook as she raised the knife and aimed. This was his wish and after seeing the mindlessness that the beasts become when they transformed, she could understand his reasoning. Soon enough, he would rip her to shreds.

Neither of them wanted that, but she also did not like the alternative. "Please, fight!"

But the light was growing brighter and Alarons screams were becoming more frantic. She needed to make a decision. Gripping the knife once again, Dania closed her eyes.

Whatever happened, it needed to happen soon.

Just then the boat began to rock. What started as a low hiss quickly turned into a gurgle. Then a roar. Dania dropped the knife and went to look through the outside viewer.

All she could see through the strange bent pipe was a roiling black mass.

"Dania!" Alaron screamed. The timbre in his voice had changed to a higher range.

The scientist spun around. The glow on the Guardian's leg and neck had turned to a dark purple and the wounds were oozing with greater force than before. But Alaron was more concerned with the crack in the ceiling.

Something was pushing against it, and the underboat itself was groaning. It was as if a snake had slithered around it and was now tightening its grip. First the crack widened letting in more water than the initial trickle and then another spot and another caved around them. Water streamed into the vessel with alarming speed.

The water was a murky black and bubbling like a pot. At first Dania was worried that the water would scald her, but as it reached the bench onto which she had climbed, the lake was so cold, it felt like ice. Not that it mattered in the end.

They were going to drown.

Against the pain, the Guardian reached out to the woman, calling over wailing water. "Take my hand. It will be ok. Just hold on."

While the idea of clinging to the mangled Guardian in the throes of transforming was not an appealing idea, dying alone and cold in an underboat was even less appealing. She jumped across two benches and held Alaron around the chest.

"There there," he said, his voice suddenly soothing in spite of both their circumstances. "It will all be alright."

Did he mean that death wasn't as painful as she feared? Or that since he had met the Maker, he knew what the other side held. She wasn't sure, but she clung to the promise with all she had.

Suddenly, the water stopped roiling and bubbling. Other than continuing to rush into the cavity, it looked completely mundane.

As the water began to rise even more, Alaron stood with the woman on the bench and held her close. From his cloak, the Guardian used a rope to hastily secure himself to the top and bottom of the vessel. Dania let go of him for a moment, too curious to be afraid. "Don't let go, he scolded her. Hold on tight!"

The scientist barely had time to squeeze her arms around the man's chest once more when the entire boat surged up into the air. Dania wondered at the amount of force pulling her toward the floor as they went ever upwards and sideways.

But what goes up, must come down.

It was the sudden shift in gravity which brought the woman back to her senses. She screamed, The water around them, which filled around half of the cavity, seemed suspended in self contained orbs. Light streamed through the cracks in the boat and caught in the water, sending a kaleidoscope of colors through the vessel.

The show was over almost as quickly as it began. For the underboat was made to slide through the water, not through the air. It began to spin, twisting as it hit different pockets of air.

The ship finally plunged into the earth on its side, the water inside bathing the two occupants as it sloshed and settled. Outside it sounded like a torrent of rain beating against the metallic covering. The two people froze as they listened, trying to get a handle on exactly what had happened.

At last, the sound of rushing water ceased, and even the water inside the vessel began to slowly trickle out of the many holes it had opened.

Dania clung to the suspended man. Between the ropes and the cushion of water, they had not sustained any additional injuries. It was very good that Alaron had only tied the bindings around himself. Dania's less sturdy body would have been ripped in two.

"We're...we're alive!" the scientist was amazed by the discovery.

Alaron turned his head toward the woman with a mischievous grin. "Was there ever any doubt?"

"Many." Dania smiled at the Guardian. His eyes flashed silver as their faces were so close they could feel each other's breath. The woman's deep blues eyes blinked a couple of times as she smiled weakly. "Now. Let me find that knife and cut you down."

Just then, there was a bang on the hatch. It began to creak open.