Chapter 5: Finale (Pt.3)

Daniel's leap was farther than Michael expected. The boy had jumped from the altar to the entrance, forcing Michael and Peter to step into the room to avoid the blow. The door slammed on itself with an invisible force and locked as the three were fully in the room. Daniel turned to laugh at them.

"Show me your powers, Peacemaker!" He lashed out with his sword at Michael. He dropped to his knees to avoid the blade. Daniel followed up with a strong kick, sending Michael spinning.

He sprawled out on the ground in agony. Peter lumbered forward, bringing down his weapon at Daniel. They parried blows, exchanging ever so often with strong thrusts and swipes. Daniel broke off and ran towards Michael, planning to finish him off. Peter increased his speed and caught up to the smaller boy, tackling him to thwart his attempt.

Michael finally got up, groaning. He dropped the heavier sword and pulled Peter's weapon from his waist. It was the original Peter's weapon. The purple glow eerily emanating from its entirety brightened as it felt the tension building in Michael's tight grip. "I have no powers. It's just me and this sword set up to kill you, Daniel." He rushed forward a few paces, closing the distance between the three.

Peter rolled off of Daniel's back as Michael plunged his sword into the ground. Daniel let pushed himself away with his wings and his hands, dodging the blow barely. He hovered in the air, summoning his weapon in another flourish of silver. "You naive fool. Did Greg ever tell you? Did Ryan? Or how about dear old Tracy? Have they been lying to you this whole time about your power?" He dropped down and swung at Michael. He blocked and took a step back, steadying himself. Daniel trudged on, unaware of where Peter had disappeared to. "You are so naive! You'll believe what everyone says. You believed Lily, who brought you to your death. You believed Peter. You believed Greg. You believed Ryan and Tracy. Haha! And worst of all, you believed Taylor when she said you were her best friend. You're not, you fool!" Michael started to breathe heavily.

"Liar! You're just trying to throw me off!" He locked swords with Daniel.

Daniel brought his face close as they shifted tension to each other. He laughed sinisterly. "Taylor won't love you back either. Face it. You're going to have to realize that she never will love you too. Never." Michael loosened his grip, and Daniel seized the opportunity. He pushed off with the flat of his blade and threw Michael off balance.

He fell to the floor and dropped his weapon. It clattered on the floor next to him. His expression was both tired and enraged. "That's... that's not true!" He pushed off of the ground with his wings as Daniel tried to impale him. Michael floated shakily, dropping down to pick up his fallen sword.

Daniel joined him in the sky. He intercepted Michael's flight route and elbowed him in the stomach. Michael dropped a few feet but stifled his fall, raising his sword to stab Daniel. The latter deflected the blow with a swipe of his sword. "Face it! Even if you win here, you'll never win what you really want!" He dropped down and planted a firm foot on the top of Michael's head, sending him spiraling down to the ground.

He hit the floor with an echoing thud. His head had smashed against the altar, flipping his body and creating an even stronger impact. Michael cringed on the floor, desperately trying to open his blurry eyes. He heard feet planting themselves next to his head.

"You're so pathetic, you know that?" Daniel mocked. "You kick and scream over a cause that is not yours. You were thrown into an entire conflict that you should have stayed out of. Why? Because a woman told you that you could save someone you love if you died? Do you know how idiotic that sounds? I honestly don't see why you would do that. You flung yourself immediately at the chance to be noticed - that's it, right? You're an attention whore. You hunger for it, you crave to be talked about!" He bent down to whisper in his ear.

"Well, you got your attention. You are the only hope of these feeble Soul Angels. They need you to save their kind. Are you satisfied? No, you're not. You still thirst for something more - love. You want love from a girl you can never have. Haha. Do you like hearing the truth? Do lies comfort you? Do they!?" he spat. Daniel kicked Michael in the stomach, doubling him over and sending him into a fetal position.

He opened his eyes through pain induced tears. His eyes were bloodshot and strained to see. Michael stared past Daniel and nodded slowly.

Daniel bent down before Michael again. "So that's a 'yes'? You realize that you've been wrong this whole time, and admit to everything? Hahaha!" The laughter echoed throughout the chamber. "Like the fool you are, you beg for mercy, don't you? Don't expect that from me. In fact, fear for the worst." Daniel's lips spread out into a sinister smile. He held his blade high, positioning it for the cleanest strike.

Michael coughed. "Now!" he screamed. Daniel stared in confusion.

Peter sprung like a bullet from the high ceiling of the room, flying as fast as he could. He pumped every ounce of strength he had into the action. He crashed into Daniel from above him, causing a crater to form in the floor as the force of the impact bore down. Michael stood up slowly, blinking his eyes rapidly as the dust from the floor settled.

"Don't ever say never. I have my hopes that Taylor will be mine one day." He laughed weakly. "Peter? You alright?" His eyes spread wide in shock.

Dan stood atop an unconscious Peter. He had pulled Peter from the very air and slammed him into the ground. He slowly opened his eyes and flashed a smile at Michael. "Don't ever? I do that. Don't ever say it, then. I don't ever will die. Hehe. I don't ever will see the Peacemaker make peace too. Don't ever give up, Peacemaker. Hehe..." His body disintegrated into dust that fell to the broken crater.

Daniel laughed aloud. "Where were we? Oh, yes. At the part where I kick your ass!" He charged Michael, thrusting his blade before him.