S.A.D.

[Rain_Pixie]

ooc: That's just what I'm calling this fanfic for now. >3

Prologue

Great waves of darkness rolled around me. I thrashed, but it felt like heavy weights were strapped to my limbs. I narrowed my eyes, but couldn’t make out an image of anything. It felt like I was being pulled down into a bottomless abyss. I was about to give up, when I felt something around my arm. Suddenly, the darkness was speedily retreating, allowing me a glimpse of light.

I coughed when I reached the surface. I began treading water to keep from sinking again. I turned to look at my hero…well, heroine. My gray eyes met golden ones with noticeable specks of red and orange. A smirk accompanied the unique eyes.

“Didn’t think you’d actually fall,” she stated. I smiled and laughed a little.

“Hey, I slammed into the wall much harder than you think.”
She chuckled before releasing my arm to move her dark brown hair out of her eyes. She pointed up toward a building that was near the pier.

“Selene needs help. She’s taking on four of them at once, and more are coming.”

We both swam to the loading dock, and climbed back up to stable ground. I heard something heavy drop on the other side of the building.

“You’d better go ahead, Axelle. I’ll take care of the one down here.”

Axelle nodded before sprinting off, her daggers already in hand. I turned a corner, facing a grotesque opponent. It was a fiend, and a bird one at that. It had piercing onyx eyes, rows of jagged teeth, and scythe-like claws. The fiend uttered a ragged screech at me. I almost felt a small smile trying to make its way to my face.

It lunged at me, and I easily dodged it. Looks like Selene beat this one around before it tried to escape. I windmill kicked it, sending the fiend flying into the wall in front of it. I was about to finish it, when a flash of steel beat me to it. The fiend cried out before disintegrating into dust. A small part of its talon was all that remained of the bird. I picked it up and put it in my pocket. I heard a voice calling to me and looked up.

I was met with Axelle’s sour expression as she jumped down to get her dagger.

“Stop messing around, Donatella. Selene and I could use a little help with the fiends on the roof.”

A nervous chuckle escaped me as I followed her up the building. As we ascended, dust fell down the worn brick, indicating that Selene was doing well enough on her own. We reached the roof, and all I saw was a blur of blood red hair destroying any fiend that lay in its wake. After a short pause, dust swirled in the anxious wind, and Selene turned to face us, her green eyes glaring at mine.

“Finally.”

She tossed a staff at me, and I managed to catch it before the bladed end sliced my face in two. I twirled it, happy to get it back, before facing my partners. Selene kept her gaze toward the sky, and Axelle had closed her eyes.

“At least ten more are coming from the harbor,” she said without opening her eyes.

“Six from the sky,” Selene whispered.

I heard loud scratching noises surrounding us, and gripped my staff tighter when I saw orbs of yellow in the darkness.

“And five in the shadows,” I finished.

We all stood in our positions, and when Axelle opened her eyes, we each jumped off in directions. Selene hurled her chain whip at the enemies in the sky, and I heard the flames crackle on Axelle’s blades. My feet met the neighboring building with a loud smack, and my staff whistled through the air. High-pitched squealing erupted into the air as the shadow fiends began jumping around, painful screeches echoed throughout the sky, and explosions could be heard around the harbor.

I continually jumped from wall to wall between the two buildings. The shadow fiends tried to encircle me, but that just made it easier to slash them to oblivion. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that Axelle was dancing with flames on her daggers, skillfully piercing them through the heart. I heard Selene’s chain whip fly through the air, trapping her prey, constricting it, until they fell limp and disintegrated.

“Are we almost done?” I called, landing on boardwalk near Axelle.

“Almost,” Selene answered. She jumped down to meet me. Axelle soon joined us.

“There’s one more coming. It’s the last one, but it’s big,” she informed us.

All three of us turned expectantly toward the ocean, the waves stirring violently. Axelle’s eyes seemed to glow when she clutched her now doused daggers. Selene twirled her whip, a smirk on her face that reminded me of a huntress. I simply stared at the water, as if searching for my reflection among the churning waves.

Thick tentacles rose into the air, soon followed by a massive body, and many glowing eyes. The sea-creature uttered a low bellowing sound, flailing its limbs in every direction. I took a step back, my nose wrinkling in disgust. One look at Selene and Axelle, and I could tell that they thought the same thing.

This fiend smells like dead fish and blood.

We shook our heads to focus, and ran forward to meet the fiend head on. It lashed at Selene, but she was gone in a blur. When I saw her again, she was striking the huge fiend relentlessly. I jumped off the first dock, landing on a tentacle. The tentacle rose into the air, and I rode down it until I met the glowing eyes. A few swift movements later, the fiend was blind. This enraged it, and it began thrashing with more ferocity. I dug my staff into its sea-green skin and held on. Selene continued to attack.

Axelle had jumped like I had, but the fiend managed to slash her hand open, and blood dripped down her daggers. At first I was worried, but then semi-relief washed over me when I saw her expression. Without saying a word, Selene and I got away from the sea-creature, and stood on a nearby dock. Axelle quickly ran around the fiend’s entire body, letting her blood drip everywhere. An almost evil expression was on her face. The fiend stopped thrashing for a quick moment, confused.

Axelle jumped off the poor creature, and ran over to us. She kept her gaze on the fiend, concentrating. She lifted her hand, and snapped her fingers. A bloody light filled the harbor as her blood festered and went off like dynamite. The fiend’s skin turned red, and it began to shake violently. Axelle’s blood was like fire, and the fiend howled in agony. Its body slowly disintegrated, cutting its death screech off awkwardly. I glanced over at Axelle’s hand, but she had it cradled close to her body. I turned back to the ocean as the last of the fiend went up in smoke and ash.

Selene turned fully to Axelle.

“…Are you all right?”

Axelle had her eyes closed, and was pinching the bridge of her nose with her unwounded hand. She took a deep breath and looked at Selene with a weary smile on her face.

“I’ll be fine.”

I walked over to her, a worried frown on my face. She saw me and ruffled my hair. We all sighed, our wounds now getting our attention. Slightly stiff, we began the painful walk up the boardwalk, our footsteps the only sound in the harbor.

[-x-Green-Angel-x-]

YES! YES, YES, YES!!!

I am in love with this story! And these characters are BEYOND words of praise! I CANNOT wiat for Vamp to read this!

I'm bouncing in my seat, too! This is so EXCITING!!! :mrgreen:

<3

[Lady Vamp]

I FINALLY got back to ACF! Goddamn you school, for not letting me read this for so long!

Seriously, this is awesome! It's motivated me to give myself that kick in the arse I needed to start writing again! ^_^ Love it! Can't wait for more!

[Rain_Pixie]

Thank you very much for the comments! >3

I'll try to post the first chapter up soon. I've re-written it at least 3 times now. lol

[-x-Green-Angel-x-]

Ah, don't worry 'bout it! I'm having a horrible time with my rewrite! You just take it slow. No pressure. :mrgreen:

...

Are you done yet?! :shock: *looks over shoulder* (Your's. Not mine.)

[Rain_Pixie]

Edit (again)

Yeah....still collecting dust. I'm working on the prologue now, and I'll post it up as soon as I finish it.

*bows* I know people have probably stopped checking, if they even bothered to in the first place, but I like this idea and I'll try to revive it somewhat.

[Rain_Pixie]

So tired...I finally finished the new Prologue for S.A.D. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: Yes, Axelle's eye color was completely Greenie's or Ange's idea. ^^

Prologue

Beneath the bright crescent moon stood ancient, decaying ruins, dark except for the occasional torch mounted on a wall. Wind blew through the glassless windows, a silent invitation for the poor unsuspecting. Shriveled grass grew between old, cracked bricks, begging for the sunlight that it would never receive. The deserted corridors amplified even the softest of sounds, bringing focus to the overall tense atmosphere that the ruins held.

Rhythmic footsteps echoed down a moonlit hallway, the source being a figure that moved with purpose. Flashes of the figure could be seen from the windows that harbored the pale light: a woman, with long fiery-red hair, unusual gold eyes that contained specks of orange and red, tanned skin, and a sleek, long-barreled gun. One finger rested on the trigger as she made her way across, eyes expertly scanning the shadows.

As she approached a doorway leading to another room, she heard an insistent dripping behind her. Other than slowing down a fraction, the woman made no indication that she had noticed the sound. When she reached the doorway, the woman looked over her shoulder. Mini pools of blood lay behind her like a trail. She raised a slender eyebrow, knowing that her body was devoid of any recent wounds.

Turning her head back around, the woman didn’t so much as twitch when she found herself face to face with a mass of bloody teeth, leathery skin, and six molten yellow eyes; a.k.a.: a fiend. The grotesque creature lifted its crooked scythe and swung at the woman’s neck. The blade landed…in stone. The fiend growled as it ripped its weapon free, and each of its eyes darted around, trying to find the missing prey. A whistle caught its attention.

As the fiend looked up, it was attacked with a barrage of bullets. Maroon gushed from the fresh wounds until the creature toppled over, and disintegrated in a pool of its own blood. The woman landed on her boot-covered feet with a thud, and noticed that four similar-looking fiends now surrounded her. A deadly smirk graced her lips as she pulled out a second gun from its holster.

Silence reigned for a few seconds before two fiends charged at her. She jumped up and kicked the attackers back simultaneously, shooting at them as she landed. The woman immediately hit the floor to avoid the scythes that were dancing through the air. With a swift sweeping kick, both fiends were down, and soon filled with holes.

A device on the woman’s ear began to crackle before a female voice with an earthy accent came through.
“Hey! Axelle! Are you all right?”
Axelle chuckled before answering, her own voice low with an urban accent.
“Yeah, I’m good. Anythin’ wrong on your end?”
“Nothing so far. I’m checking out some hieroglyphs on this panel I found in the north-east corridor. Actually, this might be a modern code…”
“Donatella…”
“Sorry. Let me scribble this down.”
“Meet me in the fountain chamber.”
“Got it!”

The communicator went silent. Axelle looked around for a moment, and saw more fiends coming from the hallway she had just exited. She ran toward the doorway on the other side of the room, and her smirk returned when the snarls of pursuit reached her ears.

* * * *

The woman who had been on the other end of the communicator, Donatella, was furiously writing down the symbols on the stone panel before her. This was a little hard due to the only light coming from a nearby torch. The swaying flames revealed her dark curly hair, gray eyes, and mocha skin.

Her brows knitted in concentration as she continually glanced up at the faded code. She knew that she had placed herself in a dangerous situation; the corridor she currently occupied contained rocks haphazardly piled, crowding the already narrow space. Not to mention that the torch was literally the only source of light, making it easier for someone or something to creep along in the darkness.

Donatella smiled to herself when she finally folded the paper, and put it in her back pocket. She was about to turn when she felt warm, moist air against the back of her neck. A shudder ran through her body, and she slowly reached for the holsters at her waist. A bellow nearly knocked her forward, and she stood still for a moment before kicking out and turning in the process. Donatella had missed, but her target, a fiend with bull horns, black eyes, and a gaping mouth, was temporarily distracted. She quickly retrieved her own weapons, guns that resembled Axelle’s except for the short barrel and teal lacework on the side.

She fired and hit the fiend in the eyes; seizing her chance, Donatella hot-footed her way down the hall and around a corner, using the deadly rocks to her advantage, though she had to slow down at times to keep from impaling herself. To Donatella’s dismay, the fiend from before followed her, albeit clumsily, bringing reinforcements that had been biding their time behind the rocks. An irritated sigh escaped her lips, and she fired back at the chasing creatures, satisfied when a good number of them fell and disintegrated.

Relief washed through her when she reached the end of the passageway into an airy room full of moonlight. She saw Axelle entering from the south. The two women locked gazes and shared amused expressions. They continued to run until they reached each other, and then stood back to back.

“It seems we have a few unwanted guests,” Donatella commented.
“What’s a party without a few crashers?” Axelle asked with a half grin.

Both women chuckled as they faced their opponents. The fiends roared and either charged or began to violently swing their weapons. Axelle and Donatella dodged each attack with speed and grace, looking like blurs of color within the dull ruins. A few fiends had fallen from dizziness at the sight, but many more were still eager to fight. Acknowledging an unspoken plan with a nod, Axelle and Donatella ran toward each other, each with one arm extended to the side. As soon as they were about to crash, they linked their extended arms, and rapidly spun in a tight circle.

The force of the spin easily gathered wind, and a small twister began to form. It sucked in a majority of the fiends, and gave them a good tossing about. Both women quickly jumped from the heart of the twister, and immediately began shooting at it, maroon splattering everywhere. The mini storm became heavy with ashes and gradually died down. The remaining fiends screeched in anger.

Axelle motioned to Donatella, and they moved away from each other; they were now several feet away on either side of the circle of fiends. Pulling up their guns, they shot at each other, quickly dove behind the sturdiest things nearby, and braced themselves. When the bullets from each gun collided, they exploded with the force of a grenade. The women stayed in their defensive positions until the shudders stopped. Cautiously, they moved from their hiding spots to inspect the damage. Nothing but puddles of red-violet greeted them.

“Hmm, it worked,” Axelle observed.
“What?! I thought you knew whether it would work or not!” Donatella exclaimed.
“Nope. Just takin’ a risk,” Axelle explained casually.

Donatella huffed, but followed the risk taker over to the fountain. The fountain itself was made of stone and in the shape of a flower. Water gushed up from the center and ran across the wide petals before falling into the base of the piece. As she was walking around it, Donatella noticed a panel that was similar to the one she had looked at earlier, except this one had plenty of other symbols, and none were in any particular order. Still, she felt it was right to dig up the paper that she had in her back pocket.

Axelle kept her gaze on all the doorways to the chamber while Donatella worked with the panel. She had quickly discovered that touching the symbols made them light up, and proceeded to punch in the code from the wall. When she finished, a rumbling noise greeted them. Axelle was the first one to see that a stone block had shifted, revealing a flight of stairs that descended below the fountain chamber. The red-head was already making her way down as Donatella wrote down a new code that had appeared beside the shifted brick. Hastily shoving the paper in her pocket, the curly-haired women bounded after her companion.

The stairs began to curve like a spiral, but luckily torches lit the way, so neither female could complain about losing footing. They walked in silence for roughly five minutes before the passageway evened out into a room about the same size as the chamber above. Both noted the damp walls and the four-inch deep water on the floor.

“Hmm,” Donatella murmured.
“What’s all the water for?” Axelle wondered out loud.

The women trudged through the water, passing a red flower that sat in a vase on a pedestal. About halfway across the room, they caught sight of something like a counter. On the counter rested a large brown coffin. They hadn’t even taken a full step towards it when a bellow sounded behind them. Turning, the females saw the red flower grow larger and larger. It sprouted vine-like tentacles, the ends of the petals shriveled up and closed, becoming a mouth, and the ‘mouth’ was filled with thorns acting as teeth.

“Donatella, I’ll preoccupy it. You know what to do,” Axelle said as she stepped toward the monster, weapon in hand.

Donatella nodded and ran over to where the coffin lay so still, despite the churning waters and fiend noises. She saw Axelle begin shooting at the creature as it raised a tentacle in an attempt to attack, and hoped that her friend wouldn’t get hurt. Focusing on the task at hand, Donatella grabbed the edge of the lid and pulled with all her might. The lid resisted, but finally moved after numerous tugs, and fell into the water behind the counter. She looked down at the contents.

Inside was a beautiful woman with pale skin and long, impossibly straight blood-red hair; her hands were crossed over her chest, but she looked so peaceful that she could pass for sleeping. A grin worked its way across Donatella’s lips.

“We found you! Now come on and help us!” she exclaimed.

The woman in the casket smiled a cool smile and opened her eyes, which revealed themselves to be mossy green. She uncrossed her arms and stretched, standing up as she did so. Strapped to her back was the largest gun a female could possess; it looked more like a rocket launcher than a gun, though.

“It’s about time,” the green-eyed woman spoke, her voice retaining an accent no culture can identify.
“Sorry, Selene. We—” Donatella began. Her eyes widened when she saw the flower fiend smack Axelle into the opposite wall.

Said fiend tried to close in on Axelle, but Selene knocked it away with the butt of her weapon; she then proceeded to shoot it. Donatella ran to Axelle to check on her, and she paused. A large cut rested in the middle of Axelle’s hand, crimson already falling to the water below. Axelle’s face held an angry yet pleasant expression. Without a word, she darted forward, causing Selene to stop attacking, and let her blood drip all over the fiend. Any water that splashed against Axelle’s skin turned to steam.

“Flames sear through my veins! Burn!” she cried, making her way back to the other two. The answer to her call was a loud explosion that forced the women under the water.

Shortly afterwards, they resurfaced, the fiend nowhere in sight; even the vase housing the creature was gone. Selene noticed something floating in front of the party and went to retrieve it while Donatella looked worriedly at Axelle.

“Hey, Axe. Are you…? Do you…?” she tried asking.
Axelle looked at her palm for a long while before answering.
“I’m gonna be fine, Dona,” she reassured the gray-eyed woman.
Selene walked over and inspected the palm more.
“You will be as long as we bandage this soon, and you rest your mind,” she concluded, pointedly looking at Axelle. The latter avoided her gaze.

Donatella’s eyes still showed worry within their depths, and Selene gently ruffled her hair, knowing how she felt and more. Axelle managed a half grin before beginning the ascension, Selene and Dona close behind.

[Le Ange Vert]

:shock:

I. LOVE. THIS.

I. MUST. HAVE. MORE.

!!!!!!!!!!

[Rain_Pixie]

Blah.

Thank you for the comment, Ange, and I'm sorry that this fic has been collecting dust. I just want to announce that I'm taking a short break from this. It won't be too long, I promise!

I honestly have alot of ideas for this story, but organizing them is taxing on my creativity. So, after a short breather, hopefully I'll be right as rain! ^^

Until the first chapter, folks!