chapter 6

Jaida sat alone, her head in her hands and her eyes closed. She was sitting in the large park in the middle of the city. The bench she was stationed on was in one of the less populated areas of the park. She currently didn't want to be around anyone when normally she was seeking other people simply to mingle with. She hated being completely alone, but right now she didn't need anyone bothering her. She had a lot on her mind, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't sort a single thought.

"Damn you Arius," she cursed, sinking further into her troubled mind. She hated the Deslyan; she despised him more than ever now. He was nothing but a jerk, an alien who thought of her and her planet as a waste of space. She had been hoping that eventually he'd come to think of her as a friend, but after their latest conversation, she knew it was impossible. He hated her, and right now, she returned his detest. She would go home later and not speak a word to him. She would ignore him for the rest of her life, considering that as soon as Lucius was dead, she was next. At least that was what he had said.

Jaida sighed deeply, drowning herself in her sorrow. Why did Arius always have this effect on her? Every time she was with him, it seemed that all of her negative emotions were heightened. She was more irritable, afraid, and she often felt like breaking into tears. Maybe he wanted her to. Maybe he wanted her to feel like crap when he was around. Deslyans probably enjoyed watching humans act that way. He probably liked seeing her cry.

She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice when a shadow fell over her. It didn't leave, nor did its owner sit down next to her. The shadow just stayed there, and she wasn't in the mood to see who it was.

"Hello miss," the voice said, and she could have sworn she had heard it before. She wasn't in the mood to think about that though. "Is there something wrong?"

"No," she answered, rubbing at her eyes a bit. She stiffened when she heard a soft laughter come from the shadow's owner.

"Then I hope you're prepared," stated the person, smirking widely down at her. She glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw a mixture of white and blond before she was taken hold of and lifted off the ground. She looked up and saw a pair of smirking sky blue eyes. "Because there's about to be."

Arius walked aimlessly down the streets, not entirely sure where he was or where he was going. This had only been his second week in the city, and he had no idea where anything was. He knew of two places: the school and Jaida's house. He could walk between them, but everything else was a mystery to him. He was already far from the road that would take him either way. He was just exploring, trying to figure out where Jaida would have gone. He had upset her pretty badly, and she probably knew the city like the back of her hand. Despite how much he hated to admit it, he was lost.

Arius turned down a street and just looked around for a bit. Down one road were more buildings. The street across from his current position seemed to lead to a park of some sort. He could see the grass and trees beyond the gates. He figured it was better than the streets, so he began to head that way. Jaida probably would head somewhere a bit more peaceful than the crowded buildings. The park looked like just that place.

Arius walked nonchalantly through the park gates, ignoring the people who stared at him. People were always staring for one reason or another. Maybe it was his red eyes or his partially spiked hair. Maybe the women stared at him because he was cute or the guys because they were jealous. However, most of the people were staring at him because of his attire. He was wearing black. He had on black pants, a black shirt, and a black coat. The sun was blaring above, but he didn't care. He was used to the heat. His own planet was much worse than this one was. People were probably wondering why he wasn't burning up right now.

He stopped after a while and began glancing around. There were a ton of people in the area, but not one was Jaida. He walked a bit further and looked around some more, but he still didn't see her. His search was cut short, however, when a familiar chill ran down his spine. There was only one creature in the universe that had that effect on him. It was Lucius, and the angel was close by.

Arius ran down the park paths, and the chill got worse. He knew Lucius was nearby, and soon he'd be able to see the white winged angel. However, the feeling suddenly disappeared, and Arius was left standing near an empty bench in an unpopulated area in the park. He glanced around frantically, wondering what had happened. I don't get it. He was here a second ago. He glanced around still, but there was no sign of the angel. He was about to leave when the chill once again ran down his spine. He snapped his attention to the sky and saw the white wings of the demonic angel. He was floating a good distance away in the sky.

Arius smirked, deciding to attack Lucius while his back was turned. He placed his hands about a half a foot apart, spread his legs a bit to brace himself, and began focusing. Between his hands formed a transparent ball of black light. It sparked and danced with tendrils of electricity as he made it a bit bigger. The glow began increasing, and just when he was ready to send it off, Lucius glanced back and smirked at him.

"Arius, so good to see you again," he said to the Deslyan without turning around. Arius just growled in annoyance. He had been so close to putting the angel out of his misery.

Lucius seemed a bit smug right now. He was too smug actually. He looked as though he was hiding something, like he had some kind of trick up his sleeve.

"Are you really going to use your magic on me?" he asked Arius, sounding as if he was innocent. His question was followed by a smile. Arius hated that look. The angel was just too cocky. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"And why not?" he asked with a deep scowl, preparing to release his spell at any moment.

"Well, you could," began Lucius as he turned around fully. Arius' eyes widened when he saw that Lucius was holding a human in his arms, and not just any human. He was holding onto Jaida, her limp form dangling in his grasp. "That is if you'd like to kill her too."

"What did you do?" demanded Arius angrily, the ball of swirling electricity still sizzling in his hands.

"Nothing yet," stated Lucius with a devious smirk. He was thoroughly enjoying himself. He just stared at Arius as the Deslyan glared back. "I wonder why she was alone though," he said, seeming to think about this. "She was sitting here crying over something. It was so easy to approach her since you were nowhere in sight. How sad…when she needed you the most, you weren't even around."

"Just shut up," Arius snarled angrily.

"Come now Arius," he began with a sweet voice and smug smile. "This is the perfect opportunity to kill me, is it not? Why are you hesitating?" Arius growled deeply, his hands starting to shake out of frustration and contemplation. "This human is nothing but a burden to you, so why not just get rid of her and me?" A dark smirk spread across the angel's face, making him look more wicked than Arius could ever look. "Why do you hesitate? Are you trying to align your spell just right? Or is it that…you actually have a heart?"

"Damn you Lucius!" he shouted, and in his anger, he released the spell, sending it hurtling towards the white winged angel. Arius quickly realized the consequences of what he had just done. "No…" he whispered in shock and disappointment at his own actions. He watched as the spell got ever closer. "Dodge it," he whispered, pleading. To his relief, Lucius moved just in the nick of time. The sphere of magic dissolved a few yards behind him, and he smirked down at the Deslyan.

"You're lucky that I'm not in the mood to die today," he told Arius. His body began to disappear, and with him went Jaida. "However, I think I'll hold onto the human for just a bit longer. Don't be surprised though…if I drop her somewhere along the way."

"Wait!" shouted Arius, but before he could even say another word, Lucius disappeared, taking Jaida with him.

Arius fell to his knees in distress, feeling the anger bubbling under his skin. However, that anger quickly grew and became rage. He slammed his fist into the ground, punching the hard concrete of the walkway again and again. His hand took very little damage, but he had left a large hole in the path. He pulled his fist from it, shaking off the flakes of cement, and then turned his angry eyes to the sky. He had to try and find Lucius. Until he did, he wouldn't be able to go back to Jaida's house. He had nowhere to go and nothing to do but find the angel.

Arius glanced around, making sure that absolutely no one was in sight, and then quickly spread his wings. In one great swish of feathers, he rose into the sky, aiming for the clouds above. He had to be careful. If a human saw him, then it was all over. He'd either have to leave the planet or kill the human being. Perhaps though if one did see him, they would think they were hallucinating. He was going to hope for that, since he wouldn't be able to use the clouds for cover for very long. He'd eventually have to go lower if he had any hopes in finding his target.

Jaida's eyes slowly opened, but they quickly closed as a cold gust of air blew into her face. She shivered involuntarily and tried to move a bit, but she suddenly got the feeling that she was moving. Not only was she moving, but there were arms around her. Someone was holding her.

She opened her eyes again, and a terrified gasp escaped her dry lips. Below her was her city, the people looking like little ants from her bird's eye view. She was far above all of the buildings. Even the tallest ones that seemed to reach the clouds couldn't compare to the height she was traveling at. Then the question of how this was possible aroused in her mind.

"Awake are you?" asked a sickeningly sweet voice, one that was dripping in a deep sarcasm. Jaida froze at the voice, recognizing it in an instant. She looked up into a pair of smirking sky blue eyes. "Terrified?" he asked her, receiving not a single response. She didn't even nod her head. She only stared at him. "You should be. As soon as Arius gets here, I'll make sure to kill you." Jaida's expression quickly grew darker at the mention of Arius' name. She put on a pained smirk.

"He won't come," she told Lucius. She recalled their argument, how he had said he didn't care about her at all. She was worthless to him. "He hates me," she whispered afterwards.

"Then perhaps I am wasting my time," smirked Lucius. His grip loosened a bit on her, and she began to slide out of his arms. She panicked and grabbed at the fabric of his robes. He only laughed at her reaction.

"Please," she began, her voice quivering. "Please just put me down."

"Put you down?" he began with a sick sense of humor playing in his voice. His arms loosened a bit more, and Jaida realized her mistake. "Very well." He completely dropped his arms, but she was still holding onto his robes. However, he tore her hands away, now holding her by her wrist. She glanced down quickly and then looked up at Lucius, pleading for him not to do what she knew he would.

"It's been fun," he told her. "But I'm afraid your flight ends here." And with that said, he released her wrist.

Jaida screamed, but her voice was sucked away in the rush of air that passed her by as she fell. The cold winds nipped at her bare arms. She could feel the chill even through her jeans. She had managed to somehow flip around so that she was falling head first. She could see the distant buildings getting closer and closer as the wind rushed past her, tossing her hair in every direction. She wanted to scream again, but the wind would just drown it out. It's not like it would do any good. She had to come to terms with the fact that no one was going to come. She needed to accept the fact that Arius could care less about what happened to her. She felt a few tear drops fall from her eyes, but they were sucked away into the wind as she fell towards the pavement below.

Arius stood atop one of the tallest buildings in the city. His crimson eyes were scanning the sky for any signs of Lucius, but he couldn't see him. Where is he? I know I can sense him, but I don't see him anywhere. Arius quickly took to the skies, still scanning the area for the white winged angel. He was going to kill him this time. Lucius had to die. Taking hostages was anything but honorable. If he couldn't fight fair, then Arius wasn't going to hold back at all with his attack.

Arius passed over a few buildings, deciding to go a bit higher. He scanned the sky again, and Lucius's presence suddenly grew a lot stronger. He was either getting closer or the angel wanted him to come. Either way, he sped up and scanned the skies a bit faster. He looked up a little, and there floating high above the buildings was Lucius. He was still a pretty good distance away from Arius position.

Just when Arius was about to fly towards him, he stopped and watched as Lucius grabbed Jaida's wrist and tore her away from him. He was holding her far enough away from him so that she couldn't hold onto anything. Don't do it Lucius. Arius watched in dismay as Lucius released Jaida, and she began to fall towards the cityscape below. Damn you! Instead of flying up towards Lucius, Arius dashed across the sky in order to intercept Jaida. He had to catch her before she got too far into the city.

With a burst of speed, he flew towards her, his hard eyes focused on the task before him. After he made sure Jaida was safe, he was going to kill Lucius. He was angrier than he had ever been before at the angel. He wasn't going to hold back at all this time. Lucius was going to die for this stupid stunt.

Above Arius floated the demented angel, who was smirking widely. He was enjoying the scene before him. He could see Arius racing towards Jaida, determined to save her life. He wasn't sure why the Deslyan was even bothering. It wasn't worth just saving one human if it was going to cost him his life. Lucius began to form a ball of fire in his hand. He was going to destroy them both in one shot. He would make sure it was powerful enough to break the barrier surrounding Arius this time. He aimed it right for Jaida and then fired.

Arius glanced up, seeing the sphere of angel's fire hurtling towards Jaida. He cursed under his breath and put on one last burst of speed. The cold air licked at his face, whipping his hair into his eyes. He had to stay focused though. He was only going to get one chance at this. If he missed her the first time, that was it. He was only a few feet away now, so he reached out his arms, and as he passed her, he wrapped them around her waist, instantly pulling her against him. He flew out of the way just as Lucius's fireball streaked by mere inches from him.

Jaida had her eyes closed as she fell towards the city, but she suddenly felt the descent stop. Now she was moving sideways, and she could feel a pair of arms around her. She instantly grabbed at whatever was closest, and she felt her hands clutching a soft material. She opened her eyes, but she could see nothing but black. She was about to look around a bit when she suddenly felt herself complete a three sixty in the air. She closed her eyes and held tightly to whoever was holding onto her. The pair of arms around her tightened.

"Hang on Jaida," said a familiar voice, one that snapped her eyes wide open. She moved a bit and looked up into Arius' stone cold face. He was focusing completely on dodging whatever attack Lucius threw at him. She was about to say something when he did another barrel roll, causing her to shudder and burry her face in his chest, not wanting to watch what was happening.

Lucius was beyond angry right now as he sent fireball after fireball towards Arius. He was launching them as fast as a gun could shoot, showering the sky beneath him with the flaming spheres. However, Arius was always a step ahead, dodging everything the angel could throw. He swerved, he dove, he barrel rolled; he performed every move possible in the air to dodge the barrage of magic. He was heading for a nearby building. He needed to put Jessie down so he could retaliate.

Eventually Lucius gave up on his magic, realizing that even when one did get close enough to hit Arius his barrier went up. He decided to wait until Arius came to him. It would be much easier to battle this out with their fists. Magic wasn't able to break the barrier, but his fists could.

Arius finally slowed down when he reached a building top, making sure that the people below couldn't see him. He leveled out a bit and gently set Jaida on her feet. She released him once she felt herself standing on solid ground, but he had to pull away from her, because she wouldn't move away by herself. He turned his back to her and glared up at Lucius.

"Stay here," he demanded before he shot off into the air, heading right for the white winged angel. Jaida was left to stand there and watch as the two engaged in a close ranged fight. She could only hope that Arius would make it out alright.

When Arius reached Lucius, he instantly lashed out at him with a swipe of his sharp claws. However, the angel was fast enough to evade. He threw a punch in Arius' direction, but the Deslyan evaded just as quickly. They began fighting with their fists while staying in the sky above the city. They were throwing punches and kicks, not a single one landing. Both were fast enough to evade and counter, but at the rate they were going, it wasn't about to end.

Finally Lucius managed to land a punch in Arius' stomach, sending the Deslyan down towards the top of a building. However, before he could slam into it, Arius caught himself, using his wings to push back up into the air. He had put all of his strength into it. He came up so fast that Lucius couldn't evade the kick he sent to his stomach. Lucius flew upwards into the air, clutching at his throbbing abdomen. He opened a painfully closed eye and saw Arius coming towards him, his arm drawn back in a punch.

Lucius smirked as his body began to fade. Just as Arius was about to slam his fist into Lucius's face, the angel evaporated into a puff of clouds. Arius stopped instantly, his eyes wide with surprise. He began looking around, floating there in midair. He searched everywhere with his eyes, but he couldn't see hide or hair of the wicked angel. He began to feel a familiar rage returning. He clenched his fists tightly, wanting desperately to hit something right now. Instead, he just slammed his right fist into his left palm and growled in irritation. It was then that he remembered Jaida. She was still standing on top of the building he had left her on.

Arius began to descend, heading right for Jaida. He pulled up a bit and landed gracefully on the building top. He looked to Jaida, who still seemed a bit shaken up. He couldn't really blame her. This incident would probably scare just about anybody. He had to give her credit for not panicking too much. For a human, she was very mentally capable of accepting all of what was happening. After all, not many would believe that an angel was trying to destroy their planet.

"Let's get going, alright?" he told her, approaching her slowly as he held out his arms. The only way to get off the building would be to fly. However, when he took a step closer, she took a step back, keeping her eyes on him the whole time.

He stopped when he realized that she kept backing away. He frowned a bit, wondering what was wrong. Hadn't he just saved her life? Didn't she trust him? What more did she want?

"Look," he began, "I know you hate me, but I have to take you back home." She still wouldn't go to him. She just stood there, staring at him. Her eyes were slowly filling with tears. He was starting to get a bit frustrated. "Just what the hell is wrong?" he asked, sounding a little annoyed with her.

"I'm sorry," she told him, and his anger quickly drained. "Lucius used me to make you come. I'm so sorry Arius. I shouldn't have run off on my own like that. I didn't think Lucius would risk coming to the park. I should've been more careful. I'm sorry."

Arius clenched his fists so tightly that his nails drilled into his palms, forming tiny cuts on his hands. He was angry again, but his anger wasn't at all being directed towards Jessie. He wasn't even thinking about Lucius right now. He was furious with himself, knowing full well that Jaida had nothing to apologize for. All of it had been his own damn fault. She was forever apologizing to him about something, and half the time there was no need. Everything that had happened today: her running away, the abduction, his encounter with Lucius…it was all his fault, and he hated himself for it.

"Damn it Jai," he said, not sounding angry at all with her. "Why do you always do this? You're always apologizing for something that we both know is my fault! You do it at school, your house, even for something as critical as this! You could have died!" He took in a deep breath, looking at her bewildered expression. True, he had said that a little louder than he had meant to, but at least he meant every word. He was sick of her taking the blame for everything he did wrong.

"Arius, I'm sor-" she began, but he growled in annoyance.

"Just shut up!" he yelled in frustration. "Stop apologizing to me!" He went right up to her and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to the edge of the building with him. Before she could pull away, he wrapped his arms around her waist and took to the skies. She yelped a bit from the sudden take off, grabbing desperately at his shirt.

"A-arius?" she began, her voice quivering from fright. "I…I really don't like heights."

"Do you really think I care right now?" he told her as he focused on where they were going and how high they were. Jaida pulled herself closer to him, burying her face in his shirt so she wouldn't have to look down.

"Don't be afraid," he demanded. "You can trust me." Jaida still wasn't relaxing, however. She wasn't sure whether or not she should take his words to heart. After all, this was Arius, a Deslyan who hated the human race and their planet. He was only there because Lucius was. Could she really trust him?

Arius tightened his hold on Jaida, doing all he could to reassure her that he wasn't going to drop her. He had meant what he said. She could trust him, but it was easy to tell that she didn't right now. He just sighed mentally, realizing that this wasn't going to clear up for a few days. He suddenly became frustrated with Jaida when she began to tremble.

"That's it!" he shouted, stopping in midair. Jaida was almost positive that he was going to just drop her, so she held tightly to him to guarantee that she wouldn't fall. However, he only held her tighter. "We're starting over," he stated, and she raised her head a little to glance up at him. He wasn't looking at her though. He seemed to be avoiding her gaze.

"What?" she questioned, wanting to know what he meant by "starting over."

"We're going to pretend that this day never happened," he told her, his red eyes flaring with annoyance and anger, something that was usually there. "We never argued, you never ran away, and Lucius never showed up. We're going to forget about all of it, alright? You don't hate me, and I don't hate you, got it?" He seemed to be demanding that she agree with him. It would be a bit hard to pretend that this had never happened. She had been so scared before. Could it really just be forgotten like he said?

"Arius…" she began.

"It never happened!" he demanded. With that said, he took to the skies again, and Jaida buried herself in him, not wanting to even risk glancing down. She had been afraid with Lucius too, but too much had been on her mind at that point. Right now, with her mind clear, she was terrified of the distant ground below her. She felt Arius pull her a bit closer, and although she knew he wasn't going to drop her, she still wasn't sure about what he had said before. Could she really trust him? Could she really trust a creature like Arius, someone who wasn't even human? Right now, with the way things were going, she didn't have much of a choice…if she wanted to live, that is.