Angel's Ascension: Requiem's Edge (Book Five)

Chapter 1: Embark

"What just happened?" Ignis asked.
He stood up as the blood walls collapsed into puddles. The blood rushed toward the others before it stopped abruptly.

Lucy caught her reflection in the puddle as she swiped it away. Her hands shook before she closed her eyes and sighed. Yori held a hand to Lucy's back and rubbed it.

"It hurts... Yori." Lucy clenched her fists. "He betrayed us out of the blue and took my best friend!" She yelled.

Yori kept her head bowed as tears dropped to the floor. "I know how you feel, sis. Percy was like my best friend and then he stabbed us in the back." She shook her head.

Tex along with Kent and Talai soon met up with them from across the arena. Ignis waved to them while rubbing his chest. Verum stood behind the group while holding her hands together.

"Hey, what the hell happened? Where's Percy and Cheyanne at?" Tex asked Ignis.

"Apparently Percy isn't who we thought he was and he took Cheyanne hostage." Ignis replied. His tail scratched at his arm while he fanned himself with the shirt.

Tex slowly twisted her hat to the left and spat on the floor. Her boots scraped against each other as she snatched up a cigar box. Soon she lit up a cigar and smoked.

She blew a smoke ring toward Kent. "Damn, I can't believe this shit. Ain't nobody gonna steal a cowgirl's partner and get away with it."

Kent remained in place as he waved the smoke ring away. "We will stop Percy and make him pay!"

Tex patted him on the head and kept smoking as she stared into the sky.
"You got that right, buddy. We'll put that no-good rat down one way or another." She chuckled.

Talai soon approached Lucy and Yori before he bent down to them. "Hey, are you two-" He glimpsed at Lucy's pitch-black eyes. His body froze and goosebumps emerged on his arms.

Lucy quickly blinked as her eyes returned to purple. "Tal, I'm glad to see you're okay!" She smiled at him.

Yori wiped her eyes and grinned, "Talai! It's been forever since we last saw each other!"

Talai held a hand to his forehead and wiped the sweat away before he laughed. He gulped as his lips quivered too.

"Sorry, it's almost like I'm seeing two ghosts at once here!" Talai threw his head back and chuckled. "I uh, heard what happened about Percy. That stuff is depressing to hear..."

Lucy's smile faded while she nodded to him and hopped to her feet. Her arms stopped shaking as she flapped both wings. Energy swirled over her right palm before she squeezed it.

"Well, it certainly cuts deep and all I can think about is hurting him." Lucy blew the hair out of her eyes. "We need to go after that bastard." She gazed over to Verum and stepped toward her.

Yori and Talai stood up as they kept behind her while Verum noticed them.

"Yori, how are you taking this?" Talai asked. "I could tell that Lucy was... shook up by the ordeal. But what about you?"

"Could be better but I'm sure I'll manage." Yori replied with a faint smile. "I know Lucy is going through a lot and this isn't what she needs."

Lucy lifted a finger to Verum. "Hey, we need to talk and it's about Percy. You complied with him so quickly about his wish so what's the deal?"

"Look, I apologize for helping him but death reapers aren't something to play with." Verum said with a grim frown. "His organization is of a higher authority-"

Lucy grabbed her by the coat and lifted Verum off the floor. Her eyes narrowed as energy seeped out from her skin. Verum's eyes stayed glued to the floor while she kept silent.