Chasm of Nightmares

Ice vs. Guilt

My teeth tightened as my blade shot sparks while it met Guilt's shadowy shuriken. I noticed Asuna jump above me and throw one of the Shurikens of Ice at Guilt, who easily deflected them with his spare star. He smirked and kicked my exposed stomach, forcing me to fly a yard or two to my back, my sword striking the ground next to me.

Black lightning flashed from the blood red clouds in the sky. Drops of murky water dropped to the ground, turning it wet and soppy in minutes. The trees violently swayed in the fierce winds.

Guilt seemed unfazed and charged at Asuna with super speed. Asuna swiftly blocked, growling as Guilt managed to lightly push her back. I quickly stood and gripped my sword's handle, running forward and forcing it from the ground. I swung swiftly but not as fast as Guilt could evade. I managed a paper-like cut on his arm though. Asuna and I nodded to each other and separated, charging at Guilt from his left and right. He smirked and blocked both of us with one shuriken each, not even breaking a sweat yet.

We stood there, battling his in-human strength. He snarled and ducked, causing us to fall forward. We both uttered a short scream as my sword and her shurikens dug into each other's shoulders. We extracted our weapons with growls and separated from each other so we wouldn't be easy targets.

"H-He is so strong…." I whispered weakly, holding my injured shoulder. The rain forced both Asuna's and my hair to fall and stick to our sweaty foreheads. Our once pure ninja uniforms were now stained with blood.

"He is only as strong as you are." Asuna replied.

"I am not that strong!"

"You'll be surprised brother."

I ducked under a black shuriken just in time for it to cut the hair that was still standing. I stared at Guilt's face as he showed his evil smirk. He raised a shuriken and a black bolt of lightning struck it, absorbing the power, causing black sparks to emit from it. He snarled and threw it inches from my feet. I shot my head to Asuna as a dark mist rose from it. Seconds later, the shadowy shuriken imploded.

Asuna

I dropped my shurikens, running forward as Zane stared at me, disappearing behind the blast of black. My wings blew away the mist and I saw the ground crumble under Zane's feet. I fell to my knees and grasped his now limp wrist with both hands. I heard the ground squash as Guilt stood up to me, a dark sword like Zane's in his hands, and a white smile on his face. He shook his head.

"How strange…." He growled in his demonic Zane voice. "He sought to save you even when you were the cause of all of this." Guilt swung his hand around his surroundings. I gave a grunt as I pulled Zane slightly higher. "You're more trouble than I anticipated. I should've done this long ago!" He snarled and raised his sword.

"This won't help you Guilt! You know he will come when Zane needs him most! And you're no match for his hope." I finished as my voice trailed off. Guilt snarled and gripped the handle of his sword tightly, still holding it above my kneeled body. "Do what you want to me, but you know. You always did."

Guilt snarled and brought down his blade upon me.

Zane

I slowly opened my eyes and realized I was hanging by my wrist over the dark chasm. With a gasp I looked up to see Asuna holding me up, Guilt over her with his sword, waiting to claim her life.

I wanted to scream my sister's name as the sword came down. A sudden jet of green energy shot past my shoulder and struck Guilt in his chest. He gave a loud cry as he was flown back. Asuna was surprised, and her hand (Wet from rain) slipped from my wrist. She shouted my name as I started to fall. I felt the air around me turn cold as I neared the chasm. I squeezed my eyes shut and prepared to cease to exist.

Something calming and warm cradled me and started to carry me back up to the cliff. I heard the ground squish as we landed on the ground.

"Zane… are you ok…?"

I snapped my eyes open with a gasp, tears in my eyes as I realized who saved me.

His blond hair was its usual neat way. His sapphire eyes twinkled with hope and peace. He wore a white overcoat, shirt, pants and boots, all with golden dragon designs. His feathery wings were tipped gold.

I could only stare at his eyes and utter his name.

"…Lloyd…."