[IC] Fateful Convergence

[Vocalia]

Adriano deftly evaded most of the black lasers, but one managed to finally land a hit on him and pierced through his protective body barrier, burning his cheek all the way to the back of the head and sending him reeling back as another laser also pierced through his barrier, this time scorching his left thigh and firing through the flesh and skin. Blood began to drip from his new injuries as his body instinctively tried to reform the barriers, but this sudden vulnerability left Adriano at a loss for words. "Impossible... Your flimsy fire tore through my barrier..." he growled and fired back with his spheres of light.

[Daxam]

Nigel says nothing and, instead of using his flames this time, swats the spheres away as if they were balls of paper. Suddenly, he appears, his nose a hairs' breadth away from Adriano's, and says, "You underestimated me. As I am now, I don't even need my flames to deal with you." To prove it, he slams his fist into Adriano's stomach and sends him flying out of the hole in the wall. As if he teleported, Nigel reappears above him and slams his leg into the Medici boss, sending him back down to the ground, hard. Landing a few yards away, Nigel then asks, "Are we finished? Or do I really have to kill you?"

[Vocalia]

Coughing and spitting out blood and saliva, Adriano picked himself up from the rubble that was the courtyard he was sent flying into. His calm and arrogant demeanor was replaced with a cold, serious glare and a strong killing intent. "No, we're not, signor Howeland. Firstly, I would like to apologize for severely underestimating you." Suddenly, his marking began to glow so bright that the light formed a dome and started to engulf his entire body.

"It will not happen again."

Moments later, the dome burst to reveal an angelic man with the remains of Adriano's tux scattered on the floor. His nude, sexless body was covered in pale white skin and glowing golden markings, his teal eyes had been replaced with a brilliant shade of silver, two pairs of white wings, each big enough to stand at his full height, were now tucked behind his back and his previously jet-black hair was now a shade of glowing ivory as if every strand of his hair had been replaced by LED lights. Without saying anything, Adriano suddenly charged at Nigel, his hands covered in pulsating light.

[Daxam]

To avoid being blinded once more, Nigel instinctively protects his eyes with a visor of flame. Once the light show was finished, he dispels the fire just in time to see Adriano charging at him. Once more moving almost casually, he reaches out and catches Adriano's hand as he attempts to throw a punch. The light around the Medici man's hand seems to push the flames of darkness around Nigel's hand back, burning his palm, yet the British man shows no indication of pain. "I see," he says, "this is your full strength." Reaching out with his other arm, he points a finger at Adriano's forehead and says, "It's still not enough," before firing another laser-like beam of flame from the tip of his finger.

[Vocalia]

It seemed that Adriano's barrier had grown stronger as it was able to protect him from the sheer heat, though it was unable to negate the force behind it as he was pushed back. Glaring at the demonic enemy, he pushed his arms to the side as clusters of light formed, then dispersing to reveal exact copies of the angelic man. Shuffling around in an attempt to confuse Nigel, Adriano and his mimicry replicas surrounded him and send out waves of piercing light from all angels in an attempt to box him in and actually hit him.

[Daxam]

Nigel watches the copies of Adriano shuffle and surround him before they start firing off beams of light in an attempt to hit him. Spreading his arms out to either side, Nigel creates a wall of fire around him to block the attacks. Then, he takes a deep breath and slams his fist into the ground. Moments later, fire begins erupting from the ground in random places within and without the space Adriano and his copies were surrounding, incinerating some copies or dissipating harmlessly, too far from their targets to do any damage.

[Vocalia]

With the number of his replicas significantly reduced, Adriano realized that the British man was outmatching him in every aspects. All the remaining replicas and the real Adriano looked shocked and in a state of disbelief. He decided that he had played with him long enough and took to the skies, the copies following him as he took flight. Above the courtyard, he lifted his hands up and created a small sphere of light that rapidly expanded into a ball large enough to engulf the entire courtyard and more. Pillars of light began to erratically shot forth from the ground as the giant sphere illuminated the area around the mansion like a miniature sun. "Receive the judgement of the heavens!" he shouted as he threw it down, the sphere exploding upon contact with the ground and burning everything in its path with a concentrated energy. However, the attack took a lot out of him as Adriano panted and landed on what remained of the courtyard, a giant chasm left as a proof of the destructive power of the sphere.

[Daxam]

Nigel watched, unmoving, as Adriano took to the air and threw the sphere of light toward the ground. "Child's play," he says simply, disappearing a moment before the sphere hit the ground. He then reappears behind Adriano, the one who threw the ball of light, and, as wings of dark flame, shaped like bat wings, says, "If that was the 'judgement of the heavens,' then I guess a demon of hell like me has nothing to worry about." Aiming his palm at Adrianos' back, a floating symbol of flame appears in the space between, from which a massive blast of black flames fires so hot that it instantly creates a vacuum in the space around it as it devours the available oxygen.

[Vocalia]

Outfought and outmatched, Adriano screamed in pain as the flames practically burned through his entire barrier and engulfed him in a blazing glory of black, hellish fire. The blast's shock wave pushed Adriano's burning body into the chasm he had created and he frantically tried to put out the fire eating his flesh and burning every feather on his wings. By the time he managed to put himself out, he was but a shell of his former angelic glory, beaten and humiliated. "How... How did you gain such immense power...?" he asked, his voice raspy and drenched in his broken ego as he looked at the burning devil with horror in his eyes.

This was right as Arlia, having just cut herself free, peered out of the hole and gasped to see the destruction of the courtyard and, even moreso, her father, battered and beaten on the ground while Nigel looked relatively unharmed. "Il mio amore..." she whispered, tears of joy and relief running down her cheek. A part of her wanted nothing more than to fly and throw herself into his arms, but she was overcome by a great sense of shame about herself and silently cried, looking away from Nigel and trying to cover herself.

[Daxam]

Nigel glares down at Adriano, now nothing but a broken man. Raising his arm, he points at the man's forehead once more, a ring of flame burning around his finger tip, and says, "When it comes to the woman I love, I will do anything to keep her safe." Then, with one final beam of flame, it was over. Turning around, having felt someone's gaze on him, he sees Arlia standing in the hole of the wall the fight started. His wings of flame once more sprouting from his back, he flies over to her to find her quietly sobbing, now with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Wrapping his still-flaming arms around her, knowing instinctively that the fire wouldn't hurt her or burn the blanket, he pulls her into a loving embrace and says, "Everything's fine now, my love. He'll never hurt you, again, I promise."

[Vocalia]

Feeling Nigel's strong arms wrapping her in a loving embrace, Arlia broke down and cried into his chest, sobbing with sorrow and shame in her weep. The remains of her shackles clanged as she wrapped her arms around his torso, not wanting to part from her savior. "Nigel... I'm so sorry... I've failed you. I... I couldn't even keep our secret from the wretched monster that was my own father," she sobbed, seeing that the cat was out of the bag. She was too fearful and ashamed to even look at Nigel in the eyes.

[Daxam]

"Shh," Nigel soothingly says, running his hand through Arlia's hair. "You didn't fail me, my love. I should've known that something would happen sooner or later, but I don't blame you in the least." Tightening his arms around her, he pulls her closer and whispers, "If only I'd have known about that garbage sooner, I would've been able to help you much faster. I'm so sorry, Arlia."

[Vocalia]

Shaking her head, Arlia gathered all the courage she had and looked up at Nigel, not at all scared by his demonic form. She gently caressed his cheek with one hand and placed another on his burning arm, the warmth radiating from the fire bringing a strangely calming wave upon her. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault. I should've been more honest about that bastard instead of hiding it from you... He had taken so many things from me... My life, my sister, and my dignity. I didn't want you to find out about this... shameful side of mine. To think that my own father has been treating me as a vent for his carnal lust and I never have the bravery or power to stand up to him... I feel so dirty and unworthy."

[Daxam]

"It isn't your fault," Nigel argues gently. "There's no reason you should feel this way. It isn't as if you asked to have someone like him as your father." Smiling, he adds, "If anything, I'm the one who is unworthy to know you. My hands are stained with the blood of countless people and, if ordered, I'd even kill my sister's only friend. A man like me doesn't deserve the happiness you've given me, Arlia." Sighing, he rests his chin on top of her head and whispers, "No matter what you've done or what others have done to you, I will never love you any less than I do now. If anything, I'll only love you more as time passes."

[Vocalia]

As Arlia heard his words, she felt a sense of peace and freedom she had only felt when Nigel was with her, only this time stronger and more long lasting. Perhaps her father's death had finally given her some sense of independence from her dark and twisted past. Resting her head on his chest, she whispered, "I could never repay you for saving me... Loving you with all my heart, body, and soul is all I can do to ever show my undying gratitude. Thank you, my beloved savior." Looking around at the destroyed room and at the remains of the courtyard, she looked up at him and, running one hand through his flaming silver hair, said, "Let's leave... There is nothing left that could anchor me to this nightmare. I don't know where I want to go or what I would do from now on, but as long as I'm with you, I'm content to follow you wherever you go, even to the depths of hell."

[Daxam]

Nigel smiles and says, "That's all I could ever ask. Now, let me take you home. My sister would love to meet you." That said, he scoops his lover in his arms and takes off through the hole in the wall. A few minutes later, he lands in front of the apartment he and Sarah share, reverting back to his original form, and opens the door. "Sarah," he calls, knowing she was still awake, "come here, I need you!" Sarah, dressed in light blue pajamas, steps out of her room and gasps, seeing Arlia's injured state as Nigel sits her down on the couch and rushes off to find a blanket for her. Sarah, sitting next to the battered woman, gently places her hand on top of Arlia's and asks, "Are you okay? What happened?"

[Vocalia]

Arlia took a moment to look at Sarah, noticing the shared appearance between her and her brother. She could feel warmth from her touch and saw worry in her eyes for her. Not wanting to be rude as the guest of the house, Arlia nodded and replied, "I'm alright, thanks to your brother. I was just involved in a... domestic dispute, so to speak." Looking at the broken shackles, she chuckled and said to the silver-haired woman, "All things considered, I'm happy to leave with my life and my body intact. Thank you for your concern, but I will be fine from now on."

[Daxam]

Sarah, however, shakes her head and says, "Please, let me help. I don't like seeing others hurt, especially like this." Nigel, returning with the blanket, drapes it over Arlia and says, "You should let my sister help. Trust me, you'll be thankful." Sarah, deciding not to wait for the woman's answer, takes her hand and closes her eyes. A moment later, Sarah's body begins to glow a soft white, which slowly spreads to Arlia's body, healing her injuries. After a few seconds, Sarah releases her hand and says, "Nigel isn't the only one with power in this family. I have the ability to heal myself and others." Looking away shyly, she adds, "I only discovered it recently, so I'm not very skilled, yet. However, I can still do enough to help, which I'm thankful for."

[Vocalia]

Arlia looked at her body, feeling rejuvenated and refreshed after the glow faded from her body. She stood up and frantically looked at herself, only to find that all of her injuries had been healed as if they had never been there to begin with. Her eyes now tearing up with joy, she looked at Sarah and went down to her knees on the floor. "Thank you... Thank you so much..." she said to both Sarah and Nigel. Words couldn't describe the sheer gratitude she felt towards them both for their help and kindness.

[Daxam]

Nigel and Sarah smile at each other before getting on the floor on either side of Arlia, wrapping their arms around her. "You don't have to thank us," Sarah says, stealing the words from Nigel's mouth. "It's only right to help others in need." After a few moments, Nigel stands up while Sarah places her hands on Arlia's shoulders, smiling at her as she says, "Now, come with me and I'll get you some clothes. You look about my size, so that shouldn't be a problem. Afterward, I'll make us all some tea, okay?"