• Shinme sighed, waiting for the soldier to get here. He could've just called for a man to just to go find Wagner, but he wanted the soldier to go do something else as well and finish his prior duties. There was a knock on the door. "Sir, you asked for me?" The soldier asked, opening the door slightly. "Yes, I did.." Shinme said, waving the man in. "I want you to do some things for me...."

    He stood on the top of the castle walls. The enemy would be there in a weeks time. There were only two others in this bastion he knew he could trust with his life. His brother-of-war, Shinme, and Shinme's girlfriend, Kyra. The rest of them, as far as he could tell were useless..
    "Corpral Wagner! Lord Shinme requests you in his chambers!"
    "Alright.." Wagner said to the sildier as he rose, adjusting his armor slightly. "Tell him I'll be there in a moment."

    Shinme was pacing around a little, fiddling with his swords. "C'mon, hun, relax..." Kyra said softly. "I'm sure he'll go for it.
    "Well what if he doesn't?" Shinme asked of her. "We'd have to leave the entire bastion in his hands.."
    "He'll go for it, love." Kyra said softly as she rose, then she grabbed him around the waist and pulled him to the bed. "Just relax..." The two started to play around in the bed when they heard a Knock at the door. "It's Wagner, may I come in?" Shinme heard. Kyra sighed softly as he said "Yes, come in." She scurried under the blanket, trying to not to let him see her skin. "Umm.. Did I show up at a bad time...?"
    "No, come in here, and relax in that chair." Kyra said softly, wrapping the blanket around herself. Shinme coughed, then reached for his vest. "Wagner, we have a plan to make this attack easier on us all."
    "Seriously....?" He perked up a little. Shinme knew Wagner had been dreading the battle. Now it seemed if he could help the survival of his clan, he'd be all over it. "Tell me what the plan is!"
    "What we'd need to do is attack them head on." He said slowly."But not with a force. We'd leave, just us three, and we'll attack them head on."
    "That.." Wagner said quietly. "Is the best idea I've heard since we decided to ready ourselves for this bullshit..."
    He grinned as Kyra laughed softly. "That's the spirit, kiddo!" She said excitedly. Shime smiled.
    "Alright. Be ready tomorrow morning before dawn. We'll need to cover alot of ground to get there after dusk.."
    Wagner hopped up, and lunged for the door as he said "Thank you, big brother! You'll not regret this!!!"
    "I'd better not..." Shinme said quietly. Kyra walked over to him, grabbed him by the hand as she threw the blanket to the bed. "Come on, love, relax. He'll do fine..." She kissed him passionately. "Now, let's get some rest..."

    Wagner didn't sleep that well that night. Maybe it was the anticipation of the coming fight, maybe it was that his older brother was trusting him with such responsibility, but he was somewhat restless. He knew exactly why Shinme wanted the attack at night, it was so they could use his crusnik powers in the attack. When Wagner finally slept, he had a disturbing dream. He saw Kyra dead, Shinme writhing in pain, and their blood on his hands. He hoped it was simply his nerves getting to him...

    He woke up, suited up for battle, then made sure his scythe and sword were both a sharp as they could be before he decided he should go meet up with the other two at the gates. Shinme and Kyra were at the gate, ready to meet Wagner. the two were similarly outfitted, both wearing seeingly light armor with twin blades in matching black and crimson designs. The two seemed to be one mass, if not for them moving apart slightly once they noticed Wagner approaching.
    Shinme smirked, pulling Kyra closer to him. "You ready, little brother?"
    Wagner rested the end of his scythe on his boot, putting his hand on his blade handle. "As ready as I can be." He smirked, the crusnik inside lusting for blood.
    "Well then..." Kyra said softly. "Let's be going then."
    Shinme simply grinned and took the lead heading off the path down onto the side of a river. He looked back and saw that Wagner was slightly confused. He looked down to the river, noticing only a shadowed blur in the line of bodies where he should be.
    Wagner frowned, then asked "Why do we have to go this way, big bro...?"
    "Because, kiddo," Kyra answered for Shinme before he could respond. "Of anyone in these lands, your brother here knows them the best. And if there were a finer strategist in all the land, I'd like to see them fail by compare."
    Wagner looked away from the river, then seemed to be about to ask something else but he just shut his mouth and kept walking along until it was nearly sunset...

    Shinme was lusting for this moment, yet also feared for Kyra's sake. He knew that he and Wagner could survive easily, being some kind of immortals, but Kyra..... She seemed to know what he was thinking about as he stared over the enemy encampment.
    Kyra grabbed his hand, kissed him softly and said "Don't worry so much about me... If I die here, it'll be for our home, our people, and for our love... Just focus on defeating them.."
    Shinme looked somewhat sorrowfully into her eyes, then smiled softly. "I will, love. You just focus on not dying, please..."
    Wagner stepped forward, his cloak blowing around him slowly. He stuck the end of his scythe into the ground. He lit a stick of insence, then balanced it between his lips.
    "When do we strike, my brother....?" He asked quietly, the red eyes of the crusnik shining through.
    Shinme grinned, pulling Kyra closer. "After dark. Once we see them go into their tents and all that's left are the night guard."
    "As to maximize kills..?" Wagner asked, the red shining brighter in his eyes.
    "Exactly, kiddo, now calm down and focus.." Kyra said softly, readjusting herself slightly so Shinme could pull out the plans.
    "Alright, here's how we'll do this." Shinme started, unfolding a strip of animal skin and pulling out a stick of charcoal. "Wagner, since you're the most powerful of us even at second release, you're heading in alone. I want you to go in on the south side, which is opposite of here, and start a commotion. Kill as many as you can. Meanwihile, Kyra and I will sneak in on the north and start killing as many as we can."
    Wagner grinned widely, and stepped back a bit. "I love my job this time.."
    Shinme looked out to the camp, and noticed the camp was being lit by fires now, and the sun was nearly set.
    "And so it begins... Wagner, go to your position and wait for the night guard to start patrolling before you attack.."

    It was alarmingly bright outside for a sneak attack, but that was to be expected from a full moon night. But Shinme was planning for that. He wanted the full moon so Wagner would have more strength. He wanted, no, more needed him to be able to attack with all of his potential strength.
    "Let's go love. I can see the night guards patrolling." Kyra said softly in his ear.
    "Alright. Let's just hope Wagner sees the same and attacks before we get too bogged down..."
    "Just stick to the shadows, and we'll be fine.."

    Wagner was watching the camp. He knew that Shinme and Kyra would attack soon, and the signal was for them to knock out a fire on the far side of camp. Once he saw it, he unleashed second form. Two large black wings blossomed out of his back as he ran to the camp. Wagner took flight, heading for the first guard he saw. He ran his scythe blade into the unsuspecting guard, then slammed down onto the ground as he launched the dead man at the two guards standing near the fire, slamming all three into the pit of flames..

    Shinme loved this part. It was so natural for him to kill others. Kyra was the same. "It's such a good feeling, the blood on me...." She said softly to him. "Mmmm.. It gets me so worked up, I'm going to rock your world when we get back to the castle..."
    Shinme grinned at this prospect, feeling her soft breath touching his neck in the spot that they hid in to next strike from. He saw the guard and leapt for him. When Shinme fell on the soldier, he could feel his ribs snapping when he hit the ground and his throat give to the knife he had. The pool of blood was slowly spreading beneath the man as Shinme rose, pulling the kinfe out and cleaning it. He moved quickly to attack another guard, grabbing him by the throat from behind, feeling it collapse as he dug in his fingers to rip his jugular free. Shinme watched as Kyra sliced a mans chest open as she stepped to the side to watch the blood spray. She had a blush on her face, so Shinme knew this was all turning her on. He heard it then...
    "Quickly!! To the south side of camp!!"
    Wagner was doing his job...

    He seemed to be unstoppable. Arrows, swords, everything. Not a single thing these people had could hurt Wagner in this form. Meanwhile he could seemingly look at one of these soldiers and kill them. In actuality, all the soldiers saw was him turn and then a man would be on the end of his blade or slashed through like nothing.
    "Come on!! Give me all of your soldiers, I'll destroy all of them and feast on their blood, should they be worthy!!!!"

    The two could hear the battlecry. Wagner had at least made it to the mid point. "Hopefully he has the wits to stay there.." Shinme whispered to himself as he and Kyra strted toward the middle, quickening their kills by simply throwing daggers into their targets or stabbing them quickly and moving on.

    Wagner had stepped up to third stage. His blade was ablaze with dark red flames, and his wingspan had nearly doubled. He noticed as Shinme and Kyra hopped into the middle of it all, landing behind him.
    "Hello brother..." Wagner said softly.
    "Are you still okay to fight, love...?" Shinme asked Kyra softly.
    "Yes, I am..." She replied, her breath seeming to be getting more and more shallow. "Don't worry so much about me..."
    "Let's move..." Wagner said in a low hiss. He then lunged into the enemies, knocking all of the ones in front of him with a gust as he severed heads with both his sword and scythe simultaneously. Shinme and Kyra started moving in unison, seemingly mirroring their movements in a twinbladed dance. Then they started killing, nothing more than a flurry of blood and blades as the moved through the crowd faster than what seemed possible.

    Then the enemy got smart. the riflemen opened up, hitting their own men more often than not. As for the three, bullets wouldn't hurt Wagner and the other two were moving too quick to be hit, and if they got close, the bullets were redirected to an enemy. The three seemed unstoppable as the mowed their enemies army in half within an hour.
    "Gauche!! Droite!! Bring me their heads!!!" They heard Kerash yell.
    "Now we have some fun..."Shinme yelled. He and Kyra were back to back, Wagner watching from over head as he loosed bolts of flame onto the camp, burning tent and man alike.

    The two mute girls ran at them, a sword in one hand each with no armor as protection they seemed to be simple to beat. They were far from that..
    Shinme grabbe Droite, throwing her into a burning tent as he knocked her blade away. Kyra was locked in a duel with Gauche, who could effectively parry both of her swords with one. Shinme glanced over at them for a moment, throwing a dagger at Gauche. It struck home, hittiing her in the thigh.

    "Thank you, my love!!!" Kyra yelled, taking the distraction as a chance to strike and remove Gauches left hand. Blood spurted from her wrist while she pulled the dagger from her leg.
    The distraction of helping Kyra left Shinme open though, and he regretted it when Droite lept out of the tent, still ablaze as she stabbed him in the gut. "Grah!!!!" He yelled in pain as he thrusted his blade into her, stabbing downn into the base of her neck through to the other side into her heart.
    "Die, b***h!!" He screamed as he pulled her sword out, then cut her head off with it as the crimson flames of the Living Saint danced across the wound, sealing it back up.
    Kyra jumped back to meet Shinme, Gauche still moving toward them with a dagger in her right hand. Shinme grabbed Gauche, slammed her into the ground, then slashed her spine at the waist. He got up, kissed Kyra as he pulled her close, letting the Saints flames course and ripple over her skin, sealing her wounds.

    "Wagner!" He yelled, ready to leave this massacre.
    "Yes, my brother...?" Wagner was already behind the two sheilding them with his wings.
    "We need to leave, now kiddo." Kyra said, looking at Wagner, expecting him to have gone final form by now.
    "Hmph.." Wagner grunted in a mix of trumph and defiance. "But there are so few left.. Why not kill them all...?"
    "No, we need to leave." Shinme's voice was rising with anger. "Kyra needs medical attention, she's only going to be able to live by the Saints power for a few..."
    "Hmph.." Wagner grunted angrily before leaping back into the air without the two. "I WILL finish this!!!" His body erupted in dark flames, his wings splitting into six. He had taken final form.

    "I'll kill you for this, Wagner...." The two said at the same time. They started along the path they took, being cautios to avoid the enemy.
    "There you are!!!!!" Kerash screamed. He lunged at the two spear and blade first. "DIE!!!!"
    Shinme managed to dodge, knocking the sword out of Kerash's hand.
    Kyra wasn't nearly as quick, getting impaled on the spear. Kerash picked up his sword, dropping the spear after Kyra cut off the head and dropped to the ground.
    "KYRA!!!" Shinme screamed as he ran to her. He dropped to her side, blood dribbling out from her mouth and around the wound.

    "Shhhh.. Shinme...." Kyra said quietly, seeing the tears form in his eyes as Shinme sat her up slightly. "Remember.. What I said.. If I die here.. It'll be for our home.. Our people.. And most of all... I die knowing you loved me till the end.... " She coughed, sputtering out blood.
    "No.. I can't let you die...." Shinme said quietly to her, brushing hair out of her face.
    "Yes you can..." Kerash said, walking up to the two. "But don't worry, you'll join her so-umph!!!!" He yelled as Wagner threw a man into Kerash, knocking him back.
    Shinme rose from the ground, Kyra's body limp on the ground. "DEAD!!! YOU"RE BOTH DEAAAAD!!!!" He screamed, then burst into flames.
    When the fire subsided, Shinme looked different entirely. His left shoulder draped over by a black cloak-like raiment. His feet were encirciled by dancing black and crimson flames, and from his right shoulder, a dark grey wing was visible. His sword was dark red, encirled by dancing flames.
    "Ha!! Like you could crush me!" Kerash yelled. Those were the last words he said, as Shinme appeared in front of him, stabbing hin through with the sword and setting him ablaze. All Kerash could manage to utter from then on were screams of sheer pain.

    "Wagner!!!!!" Shinme yelled as he saw Wagner flying upward into the air. "You..! You're responsible for her death!!! I had better not see you again for a very long time, your I'll remove your ******** skull with my own bare hands!!!!"
    Wagner heard the threat to the end before flying away as quickly as he could.

    Shinme, still in full Saint form, picked up Kyra's corpse, a tear falling down his cheek onto the pit of her eye, where it rolled in the same pattern only to fall to the ground. He left with her in his arms that night, staring down another hundred men, yet not having to raise another finger...