Hey everyone. Sorry for making everyone wait so long. Back here with the 6th episode though am very late this time. College started and barely got time to write but I promise that the next episode, which is the final one will be posted real soon!

Enjoy this episode till then.

skyunending@yahoo.com

Episode 6

Having gone through stressful mental trauma, caused mainly by his own thoughts and mind, Aiden was finally letting go and enjoying himself. A naked Will had him pressed against a wall as they fiercely kissed, while Will ground his crotch against a fully clothed Aiden. The younger boy elicited moans that were greedily captured by his lover's mouth, barely giving him any space to breathe.

There was some confusion in the back of Aiden's mind. Why had Will been acting weirdly and even cold-shouldering him earlier? But he let those thoughts melt away as he lost himself in the passionate lover that was Will; the great solid chiseled body, the perfect musculature, the soft lips and aquiline face; all topped off with a healthy dose of passion.

Aiden was being kissed by Will almost punishingly. He was firmly geld against the wall as Will continued to ravage his mouth, then slipped his hand into the waist band of jeans and began tugging them down, forcing his lover to join his state of nakedness. Aiden was having a hard time breathing and was sucking at the air in Will's mouth to sustain his own respiration. He was hot and heavy and could not sense anything other than the flood of sensations Will was making him experience.

Will suddenly jerked up Aiden's thighs, making them straddle his hips on either side. Still smothering Aiden's lips with his own, he stumbled as he walked for both of them towards the bedroom. Upon reaching there he unceremoniously dumped Aiden on the bed. Aiden writhed about and struggled to get out of his confining clothes moaning 'I want you so bad'.

While smiled evilly and pounced upon Aiden who had barely gotten rid of his underwear till then. His lips were back to being punished by Will's who was greedily biting and forcing his mouth upon them. Aiden was certain that his lips would be all swollen and puffy later, but he did not care about that now. Will and he had had rough sex the first few days after they met, but it had become more of gentle love-making sessions ever since the day he was anxious when Tinka had first cast aspersions on Will. Now seemingly Will was back to wanting it rough and animalistic and Aiden was fine with that. He opened his eyes and noticed Will's hungry ones. Then he noticed something was a little off with Will's eyes. There was a white glint along the cornea which was slowly dissolving as he watched. Was he hallucinating?

As Will pressed himself further into the boy, he suddenly reached below and started guiding his rock hard erection into Aiden. Aiden was shocked. Will was not using a condom and was pressing against his hole aggressively now. Aiden shut his eyes tightly and braced himself for the pain as Will continued to enter him while at the same time ravenously attacked his mouth. They had never had sex without a condom before. Why was Will wanting it now? Maybe he was so high that he had lost control; but should Aiden himself allow it?

Aiden groaned, more with pain than with pleasure, but his groans were lost in Will's mouth. Aiden knew what was happening was not what he would have approved of in his normal state of mind, but then he thought of how Will had been snubbing him recently. If he denied Will right now, the chasm between them might grow further. Aiden had no intention of losing Will. He gasped with pain as Will entered him fully, his pubes coming in contact with Aiden's ass cheeks, Aiden on his back and his legs flung wildly into the air.

Will withdrew all the way outside and slammed back into the boy. Aiden yelped with pain and squirmed as he lightly pressed his knees against Will's chest, signaling him to take it slow. But it seemed Will had other things in mind. Will withdrew once more till the head and foisted his hard member inside Aiden's hole. "Will…" Aiden cried out in the middle of mind-numbing pain; pain that was excruciating. That's when Will picked up pace.

Will wildly pulled in and out and stared to savagely fuck the Alchemist. Fucking him like a sore pig. Pistoning in and out, driving his member till the last millimeter, as Aiden's ass muscles lost all hope and screamed in pain. Will had just begun. The veins on his penis distended obscenely as he continued to brutalize the boy. He had pinned down Aiden's hands on either side of the boy and was ingesting all the boy's screams, capturing them with his own mouth.

Aiden was in hell. His asshole was burning, making him experience pain he had never felt before in his life. The lack of lubrication and Will's pace huge member were too much for him. He was struggling and writhing beneath the demonic form of Will which continued to assault him. His muscles were sore from the fruitless struggle he was using to get Will to stop, his strength insignificant in front of his powerful lover. Will had fingers of both hands tightly interlocked with Aiden as he held his hands against the bed sheet. Aiden was trying to bite onto Will's mouth but it was proving ineffective as Will even continued to batter his mouth. The boy was not even being able to ask for him to stop. Tears left his eyes owing to the unbearable pain

Suddenly Will let go of Aiden's mouth to gasp for breath. Aiden seized the moment as he let out a high pitched scream. "WIIILLLL STOP."

Will stopped moving as Aiden looked up into the eyes of his lover. They were white in color, and he was sure of it this time. They were watering and turning lucid slowly, as if Will wanted to cry. And they were also slowly returning to their intense green shade. Suddenly Will balked as the forces of Subjugation overpowered him once more. He would continue his brutalization of the boy. But Aiden had had enough. He instantly brought both his feet against Will's pectorals and kicked with all his strength.

Will went sailing through the air as he crashed into a wall behind, his head slamming the wall as he plummeted into it. And there he sat still upright, his eyes wide open. They were White in color.

Aiden mustered all his strength as he jumped off the bed. There were tears streaming down his face. Tears of pain. Aiden hated crying.

"What's wrong with you Will?" he bellowed almost pleadingly. Will did not answer. He just continued to stare at the boy in front of him. Aiden's ass was hurting bad. He was pretty sure he was bleeding or something but did not have he courage to reach a hand behind to check. He looked about frantically for his clothes and then quickly slipped on his jeans without his underwear. He was getting out of here as fast as possible; as fast as the current state of his body allowed him.

Aiden wiped the tears on his face with the back of his hand as he quickly collected his stuff and fled from the room.

Will stretched out a hand as if begging him to stop. "Aiden." He called out softly, but the boy was not listening. The door slammed as Aiden bolted from the flat.

~~~

Aiden's entire body hurt. His muscles were burning. His butt hurt like a thousand stinging needles. But none of that pain matched the pain in his heart. He hated the fact that tears had recently left his eyes; even though they had been tears of pain. He never cried.

Aiden ran out of Will's building entrance as fast as he could. He had no car this time. He would have to run towards college on foot. What would he do now?

'What was wrong with Will?' he questioned himself again and again. 'What happened to Will suddenly?' 'Why had Will tried to rape him so savagely?' Aiden felt contempt at himself as he thought about how he himself must somehow be at fault for all this.

His whole world had gone drastically awry in the last one day. From rejection to doubts and anxiety, from accusations to long formed friendships at the brink of destruction, from confused friends to misguided lovers, from lovers to savage abusers; what the fuck was happening to his world?

Aiden continued running towards his college as he contemplated what he should do. He wished that the earth would just open up and swallow him up. Maybe he should just jump over the bridge to his death. But isn't suicide for cowards who can't face the tribulations of life. Isn't that throwing away precious life?

A heavy fog was gradually descending as Aiden ran. It being late evening, the surroundings were dark and they were now being heavily shrouded. Aiden's footsteps resounded all along the pavements he ran. The boy was scared. Why had his lover treated him like that? Why had he been so brutal? What kind of beast had gotten into him? Is this how beautiful people toyed around with inferior looking ones? Play around with their feelings and then use them as trash cans? Was this what Will thought of him; treat him like a charity case for some time, coddle him all along and then trample all over him?

Aiden felt sick at himself for all the negative thoughts. There had to be an explanation for all of it. Will was not like this. After all, had he not said that he would always stay by his side? And what was that white glow in his eyes that he had noticed? Also Aiden did not want to admit it to himself at that time, but he was certain that he had seen extreme sorrow and regret on Will's face when he had hastily departed from his apartment.

Aiden slowed down his running gasping for breath. The fog around him was getting thicker and thicker. It was hardly possible to see more than a few feet anymore. Where did such mysterious mist suddenly appear from?

Aiden stopped completely to catch his breath. His body was still sore and his butt was absolutely raging with pain by now. Even the weather seemed to be working against him now. He balked as he heard footsteps coming towards him. Someone was approaching. He strained his eyes in the direction of the footsteps. A tall shape was slowly appearing amidst the thick smoke. Aiden braced himself as he thought about how he would face his rapist lover.

The shape gradually emerged from the mist. It was Scott; Scott White.

~~~

Will sobbed uncontrollably as his entire body shook and shuddered. What was happening to him? Why could he not control himself? What had he just done? Why had he hurt his love?

Aiden had begged him to stop and he had ruthlessly continued. The eyes of his lover had cried out in pain and hurt and he himself wanted nothing more than to stop and comfort his lover. But he had not been able to do that. What had his Empress done to him?

The air before the shuddering fallen angel began to warp and deform as slowly a young girl with golden tresses and blue eyes appeared on the material plane. Empress Woe had just appeared before her servant. But she did not have much time. Night would fall soon and she would be forced to return to the Kingdom of Void.

"You, Arangyunus have become pathetic!" The little girl held out her right palm and stretched the fingers apart, hovering above Black's chest. A dark glow emanated from her digits as Black suddenly lurched forward and blood gushed out from his mouth.

"And I am forced to do this to you," the little girl continued as the eyes of her guardian were being forced to turn to a milky white shade.

The Empress had had enough. She had waited too long for the Alchemist to come willingly to her. And now even her own servant was serving her unwillingly. He had even managed to momentarily counter the dominance of the 'Stone of Subjugation', all saturated in those icky feelings of love and compassion he felt for the boy. Feelings that were even overwhelming loyalty to her. She would not tolerate this. She would force Black to place her will at first priority, no matter what the cost.

She withdrew her hand as she finished maximizing the effects of the Stone embedded into Black's heart. Now he would obey her even as his heart bled.

All she had to do now was to make him find the Alchemist and quickly set matters right. Wooing the Alchemist would come to an abrupt halt now. She would resort to coercing the boy to do her will. And if the alchemist went out of control, she would kill him.

~~~

Aiden flinched as Scott neared him. He was in an unstable mood. Scott neared him with a look of sorrow, with empathy in his eyes, but Aiden was not sure how Scott would react now; and more importantly, how he should react. Shouldn't he just run away from there? Scott had tried to make a move on him earlier. What would Scott attempt to do now? Rape him?

"Aiden." Scott called out softly as he stepped towards him slowly.

Aiden had a pained expression on his face as he took a small step backwards. His body was burning all over. Should he shut out this friend too? He had been running away too much.

"Aiden please." Scott called out. The mighty angel was having an arduous time with the boy here. And all he wanted right now was to comfort and protect him.

"Please Aiden, I will not do anything that displeases you."

The pupils of Aiden's eyes were shaking unsteadily. Then suddenly he relaxed and let his body loose. Immediately Scott stepped forward and enveloped him in his alms. Aiden made no attempt to shrug him off. He just let himself loose in the warm embrace that was the mighty Keeper of the Light.

White hugged the alchemist protectively in his alms, the embrace firm enough to let the boy know of the security he intended to offer. Fog was thick around the conjoined pair, fog that had been summoned by the white angel himself. He put a hand over Aiden's head who sighed and rested his head upon the sturdy man's shoulder. The mighty angel had wanted to hug the boy since so long. Just hold him tight and kiss him. But he would have to curb all his longings even now.

White sensed the extreme discomfort and restlessness the boy was experiencing, even the physical pain burning through him. Slowly he crept into the boys mind and chanted a lulling spell into it. The boy would relax and fall asleep. White had promised never to enter the boy's mind unless a dire situation required him to do so. Now seemed the time.

Aiden felt his entire body relaxing, the physical pain was magically subsiding. His tense body was slowly falling slack against Scott's solid body. There was thick fog around them and visibility was reduced to zero. But he did not care for now. His eye lids were getting heavy as he felt something warm and fluffy enveloping his entire body, wrapping itself around him. He wondered what it was but his eyes would not open, he was too lost in the soporific effect Scott was having on him. Soporific and calming. He trusted Scott, despite what he had attempted earlier. The last thing Aiden saw in his mind before he slipped into a peaceful slumber was Will's face; happy and smiling; telling him he would always stay by his side.

White had brought out his great wings. The spotless wings were wrapped around the boy, protecting him from the chilled air and from dangers unseen. He gently held the boy as he fell asleep and then easily lifted him into his alms, walking over to a bench on the pavement side and lying down on it along with Aiden on top off him, still cocooned in his pearly wings, wings that resembled soft white petals of roses, warm, safe and peaceful. He stretched out an arm from beneath wings as Aiden squirmed in his sleep.

"Guardian Ability 12; Sheltered Enclave." Spiritual energies dissipated from his hand and formed a spherical cordon around the lying pair. The cordon would prevent people from noticing them there throughout the night. It would also shield them from Empress Woe and Black.

White slipped back his arm around Aiden who smiled in his sleep and held onto him tighter. The great white angel looked down at the peaceful sleeping face of the boy, feeling happy that he could at least momentarily rid the boy of the demons that possessed him a few minutes back. He knew not what lay ahead of them, but he knew on thing, he would give his all to protecting the boy.

~~~
~~~

The Empress was furious. She had spent a restless eight hours - the night time on the material plane, fruitlessly searching for the alchemist. But the boy had simply vanished. All efforts to try and trace him had been in vain. And now she was back on the material plane; she had gotten there at the first crack of dawn and ordered Black to try and track down the Alchemist as well. Where was the boy? Had Witenhoem gotten him before? The consequences of that would be drastic.

The Empress had split from her guardian to speed up the search. She had been telepathically relaying messages to Black all along but the two of them were having no luck. She beckoned Black to meet up with her soon.

Using spells and tracing techniques were seeming pointless. She and Black would have to physically travel to various places and see if they could pick up any trace of the boy.

~~~

Aiden lolled about lazily as something vibrated against his leg. He felt the hard surface on which he lay and wondered where the warm feeling that had enveloped him till a few moments back had vanished. Suddenly he jerked up awake. His phone was buzzing in his cargo pockets, and that had been the juddering feeling against his leg.

He looked about frantically as he dug his hand into his pocket to retrieve the phone. It was early morning. He had been sleeping on a sidewalk bench all night? How did he end up here? He glanced at his phone display. 7:03 AM on a Monday morning; and it was Dominic calling.

"Hello." Aiden whispered into the phone holding in his breath as memories of the previous day crashed through his mind, overwhelming all his senses.

"Aiden, it's me. Where are you?"

"Uh, I'm…" Aiden looked about frantically and caught sight of Scott who was squatting atop a five foot fence with his alms hanging down loose. Scott grinned sheepishly as he realized Aiden had noticed him. Blue eyes and shining golden hair; he was every bit as stunning as Aiden remembered him to be.

"Aiden I am at your dorm room right now, and you're not here. I need to talk to you," Dominic stated impatiently from the other side of the line. "Where are you?"

Aiden was still staring at the picturesque vision of the beautiful man before him. Had this man watched over him all night? That was too weird!

"I'm just, just outside right now," Aiden finally stammered back into the phone. "Why do you need to talk?" he whispered fearing the worst.

"Can you meet me outside Café beans in 20 minutes?"

"Yeah, that'll be…"

"Fine then, see you there."

Aiden heard the phone click as Dominic disconnected the line. What was going on? He looked at his phone display to find three missed calls by Dominic. Was he sleeping that peacefully that he did not wake up earlier? He usually slept like a watchdog; awaking at the slightest sound or movement.

"Scott," Aiden took a deep breath before asking. "Did I spend the entire night here?"

"Yup." Scott replied cheekily as he jumped down form the fence.

"And you were there too?" Aiden asked incredulously.

"Yup; watching over you."

Aiden turned red. He was feeling all warm and tingly inside, but this was way too weird for him. "Err, I'm sorry about last night; was having a really rough time."

"No problem." Scott replied with a sad smile on his face. It was a pleasure to look after you."

Aiden was at a loss of words. A pair off joggers trotted by frowning at a groggy boy who just woke up after a night's sleep on the sidewalk bench. He swung his legs and got off the bench in one swift motion. He had no idea what to say to Scott. But he had to meet Dominic in 20 minutes and he had to take care off his breath and hair before that.

"Ok, I gotta go now." He stated flatly as he collected himself and straightened his clothes.

"Ok," was all Scott stated.

Aiden stole one last glance at the scenic view of the hunk before he walked trotted towards the Café and slowly picked up pace till he attained a good jogging speed. He was meeting Dominic in the next few minutes. And he reckoned that they would probably have the conversation from hell.

~~~

Tinka hated 'Site Plan Study' days. But what she hated more were overeager teammates that dragged her onto the Site at 5:30 in the morning on a Monday. She had been awake and moving about for more than 2 hours now, and she was touchy as hell. She yawned without covering her mouth as Chad, one of her team members, and the highest GPA scorer ordered her to take a panoramic picture from the top of the railway bridge.

Tinka cursed under her breath as she climbed up the foot over bridge. There was no refusing Chad. He would make all the four of them slog their butts till the entire project was completed to the last possible detail. Well maybe she would get a good grade this time and some of the hard work would pay off. She lumbered up the steps and walked to the middle of the over bridge. She took out her camera and focused on the scenery before her. Lots of green trees; that meant more coloring work in sheets, some structures; well that would mean lots of milieu consideration too and lots of people wandering about. Why the hell had her team chosen this place to present their project on? 'Oh yeah', Tinka reminded herself, 'Chad had chosen the site.'

Suddenly Tinka noticed someone familiar. She zoomed in with her camera to make sure. Yup; it was him. What the hell was he doing here early Monday morning? And who was that little girl by his side.

The clunk of a metal piece was heard as the expensive camera left Tinka's hands and fell to the floor with a crash. Tinka gasped as restricted memories first unfettered themselves and then ran rampant in her mind. Memories of a dark horrific place. Memories of two terrible forms. Memories of a little girl with flowing yellow hair and crystal blue eyes. Memories of Aiden's lover Will thrashing about on the floor. Memories that had been sealed capsulated, locked away somewhere in her mind which she had just obtained the key for. And the stimulation for the key had been a glimpse of the little girl herself. The little girl that had been sitting on a throne in the dark chamber.

Tinka had just seen Will with that very little girl now. Her head throbbed as forbidden memories unleashed themselves into her mind. It seemed bizarre that she had somehow forgotten all this. Or maybe she had been made to forget them! Things that were so unbelievable that they could not possibly be true. Yet, she was certain that she had seen them.

All her grogginess left her as the desperate girl dived into her bag for her phone and frantically dialed Aiden's number. What would she say to him?

~~~

White was following the Alchemist everywhere. Concealing himself and turning invisible he had followed the boy all the way to the coffee café and had even followed him inside the public washroom where the boy had washed his face and rinsed his mouth. Turning invisible caused White himself to lose his vision following the inescapable laws of physics, but he could rely on other senses of his to tell him what was where.

He was still forming an enclave all around the boy, an enclave that prevented other beings from tracing the boy spiritually. But maintaining the enclave for such a long time was costing him much of his energy; he knew that the oncoming battle was unavoidable. The war would begin soon and he had to conserve energy for that.

He waited patiently in the background as Aiden stood waiting outside the coffee café.

~~~

Aiden shifted his weight from one foot to the other while waiting. He briefly thought about what had transpired between him and Will the previous night. All the negative vibes, the trauma and the pain. But surprisingly all that physical pain had disappeared; simply vanished. He was sure his butt would be sore as hell for at least a couple of days after yesterday but there seemed to be absolutely no pain whatsoever. Had it not been as violent and intense as he thought it had? Maybe he had been dreaming things.

The drone of a motorbike engine informed him that Dominic had arrived. Aiden stopped breathing for a few seconds as he tried to read Dominic's expression as he got off his bike in the distance. Dominic gave a slight smile to him as he dismounted form the bike and made his way towards a queasy Aiden.

Suddenly Aiden's phone buzzed. He fished it out of his pocket to observe that Tinka was calling. 'A lot of people seem to be awake and about today morning', he thought to himself as he pressed the red button and ended the phone call without answering it. Tinka would have to wait for now.

Dominic walked up to Aiden and stood unsteadily; Aiden himself was feeling highly discomfited and chewing his lower lips; a sign he was extremely nervous. The two glanced at each other in an awkward manner; till finally Dominic broke the silence.

"I had to talk about something, Aiden."

Aiden was trembling all over. Here was the guy he had been in love with for more than two years, and who he was finally being confronted by about his sexuality; not by choice though. Here was the boy who he considered absolutely flawless; his chiseled face and aquiline looks that were obviously no where near Will's or Scott's but whose character he knew form two years of experience was absolutely impeccable; the complete package and Aiden's ultimate idol.

Aiden was sure this ultimate idol was going to think of him as a much lesser person after this conversation. How many 'outings' were these few days going to witness?

"Aiden, I know that you're gay." Dominic let out in one breath as Aiden blanched. "I mean, I'm very sure of it; you are, aren't you?"

Aiden nodded his head slightly in agreement. Guilty as charged; there was no way out of this. He was momentarily distracted as his phone was buzzing in his hand again. It was Tinka. He disconnected the call once more.

"And I'm perfectly fine with that. I mean, you're still YOU right?"

"You are?" Aiden asked in a timid voice.

"I'm what?" Dominic asked confused.

"You're fine with it?" Aiden asked his voice trembling.

"Yeah. Yes, I am perfectly fine with it." Dominic stammered back. Nervousness interlaced with awkwardness was heavy in the air. Aiden felt like he would choke on the uneasy atmosphere alone and die.

"And Scott is your boyfriend?"

"No he's not!" Aiden bellowed his voice going out of control, then he reiterated in a softer voice, "No he's not."

"Err…then" Dominic was thrown off guard.

"Actually I have a boy friend and his name is Will." Aiden replied though he was again not so sure anymore. "Scott's just a friend."

"Ha," Dominic stated softly. "Just a friend huh? Well Scott is always talking about you and always seems to be pre-occupied by you. I thought he was definitely your boyfriend or something."

"I mean he's pretty hot." Dominic stated after taking a deep breath.

Aiden swallowed a lump in his throat. Had Dominic just called another guy hot?

"He's not as hot as my boyfriend Will though." Aiden growled in a low voice.

That broke the uncomfortable awkwardness between the two as both of them suddenly burst out laughing. Aiden was all smiles as it looked like his friend was going to accept him.

"So who's this boyfriend of yours?"

"You won't know him, he's a social worker." Aiden stated triumphantly. "He lives just off the docks."

"So that's where you spend your nights!" Dominic raised his voice as he stated. "You're never available in the evenings and nights! You're sleeping with him everyday?"

Aiden blushed as he nodded and admitted the same to Dominic.

"Damn!" Dominic stated. "And to think I'm still a virgin."

Aiden was shocked. That was a bit too much information from Dominic for the present moment.

"I mean I've hardly kissed a girl before you know."

"Uh huh." Aiden stated as he nodded his head furiously. This conversation was taking an uncomfortable turn once more. He simply did not need to hear of all this from Dominic. Did Dominic want to be kissed? Aiden sure was ready to do the honors though!

"But I guess you don't need to know that." Dominic stated smiling, all his straight white teeth showing.

"Yeah, whatever." Aiden replied smiling. Somehow Dominic stating these facts were a sign from him that he totally accepted Aiden.

"But I need you to know that I am totally cool with it and you can talk to me about it and nothing changes between us," Dominic stated in one long sentence.

"Thanks. That means a lot to me."

"So you coming to class? We have an early lecture at 8 O' clock today."

"Yup, just a sec." Aiden stated as his phone buzzed once more. It was Tinka. Aiden knew she would be mad for him not taking her earlier calls, but this was way too important for interruptions.

"Yeah sorry!" Aiden stated as he picked up the call this time.

"Aiden!" Tinka's voice nearly screamed from the other side. "Why the fuck were you not picking up my calls?"

"Uhh, I was busy with Dominic here, we were…"

"Where the fuck are you right now?" Tinka screamed from the other side.

"Outside Café Beans. Why?"

Tinka calmed down a little before she spoke again. She needed to talk to Aiden but could not mention it was about Will. Aiden would shut down on her if she did that.

"I need to tell you something. Just stay right where you are. I'll be there in 15 minutes!"

"Wait, wait, is it important? Can we talk during lunchtime? I have a lecture at 8."

"Balls to your lecture!" Tinka fumed from the other side. "Stay right where you are, I'll be there in a few."

Aiden was left muttering as Tinka disconnected the call. Dominic looked at him with a questioning look on his face.

"Sorry man." Aiden said to Dominic apologetically. "Can't come with you to class right now. Tinka's on my case right now. Have to stay here to meet her."

"No probs." Dominic sated cheerfully before he hesitated and asked next, "So I guess she isn't your girlfriend or anything? I always thought you two were a couple before."

"Thank heavens we're not a couple. We would NOT comprise a happy family."

Dominic chuckled before he said bye and left Aiden standing; all set for one more conversation. Aiden hoped this conversation would work out to be as pleasant as the previous one. Or would it? He wondered what it was that Tinka needed to so desperately discuss with him.

~~~

Frigeria, the raven haired angel from the Kingdom of Light, stood watching patiently as the Alchemist said goodbye to one friend and waited for another. She could see that things were changing in the boy's life, taking all sorts of twists and turns. But the real tribulations were yet to come, and they were approaching fast.

She knew that White was following the boy, keeping a watch on him and was vigilant of enemy influences, constantly on the lookout for them. She knew he had turned invisible and had been following the boy all along. But she also knew that White had not detected her; while constantly being watchful for Empress Woe and Black, White had not sensed her presence, and it was for the better.

The Alchemist needed to know of certain things, things that the mighty white angel was scared of telling him or simply did not know about. It was time for Frigeria herself to intervene.

~~~

Aiden once more waited impatiently as minutes ticked by, shifting his weight from one foot to the other yet again, wishing there was a bench nearby or something to sit on. Damn coffee shop was also closed so early in the morning.

He tried to stop thinking of what Tinka needed to talk to him about. He would know in a few minutes anyway. Instead his mind shifted to thoughts about Will. He was tired of trying to think of all possible explanations of last night's encounter with Will. And what was that white turbid color he had seen Will's eyes saturate into? That was eerie and… sad at the same time. 'Maybe I should call Will' Aiden muttered to himself after much rationalization.

Aiden lifted his handset and searched for Will's number. A high pitched voice screeched from behind as he was just about to press the call button.

"Thank God you're here!" It was Tinka.

"Hey Tinks," Aiden smiled at her. "What's going on?" Aiden had not met Tinka since Saturday and was not sure how he should talk to her presently. But she was still his best friend, wasn't she? He desperately wanted to tell her of the meeting with Dominic jst before, but reasoned he would have to wait his turn.

"Ok, Aiden." Tinka stated grasping both of Aiden's elbows and half dragging a protesting Aiden towards the side alley of the coffee shop. "I have something to tell you and it's gonna sound really stupid and unbelievable, but it's the truth."

"Ok," Aiden was trying to remain patient.

"I know I have said this before but Will is not what he says he is and now I am sure of it."

Tinka paused to observe Aiden's expression. She hated going against Will again but she had to do it one more time.

"Will is not a normal human being." Tinka cleared her throat before she continued. "He's some sort of magician or sorcerer or something, and he's after you."

Aiden's eyes opened wide as he waited for Tinka to continue. Surely this was one of her jokes where she would burst out into laughter any moment and state that she'd 'got back at him'.

"Ok, this is gonna be weird but I am gonna tell you what I saw on Saturday when we went to the retirement home."

"Tinks, please stop."

"Aiden, I know you think I'm crazy or something but you have got to listen to me. Please. Just once hear what I saw."

Aiden swallowed as he nodded for Tinka to continue.

"The other day when I came out of the washroom I saw in another room, these slimy eerie squid like monsters and I screamed. Just then Will appeared behind me form nowhere and his hand glowed as he used some sort of weird… 'magic thing' on me. Everything turned black after that."

Aiden was biting his lips once again unable to understand what Tinka was trying to tell him.

"When I came to, I was in a dark eerie place, darkness with a few colorful stones glowing, and I saw Will writhing in pain before me. In the dark chamber was sitting this small blonde girl that stated that I ad seen too much and then she did some psychic shit and my head started hurting."

Aiden opened his mouth to say something but Tinka interrupted him once again.

"And then I just remember being back with you in the recreation room. Somehow I had forgotten all about it till I saw Will and that same little girl today."

"Tinks, you've been dreaming." Aiden stated flatly.

"No, I'm not you bozo! Listen to me, it sounds far-fetched but I'm a hundred percent sure its what I saw. You have to believe me."

"Believe what?" Aiden asked incredulously.

"Believe her." A dulcet voice stated from behind, echoing as the tinkering of wind chimes.

Aiden whirled around to find a stunning dark haired woman slowly advancing towards him. Tinka suddenly saw silver butterflies before her eyes as she lost consciousness and fell to the floor with a thud.

Aiden whirled around once more to find Tinka on the floor and turned back to face this new arrival.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Believe her; believe that your friend Will is actually the devil himself." The lady stepped forward and Aiden noticed how beautiful the lady looked, her black hair perfectly straight as it cascaded down her shining white dress.

"Hello Aiden, I'm Frigeria."

~~~

White had been following Aiden at a distance, and had followed him as Tinka had pulled him into a side-alley. And he had been startled as he saw Tinka fall to the floor suddenly. Soporific spell? Frigeria was here? Suddenly he himself saw the same sleep inducing butterflies and fell to the floor against his strong will. The spiritual enclave he had been maintaining around Aiden collapsed as he did. Aiden was now susceptible to the Empress finding him.

Not far away, the Empress suddenly received a positive signal from Aiden's search link, which disappeared as abruptly as it had appeared. She had traced Aiden and had lost the trace immediately. She telepathically confirmed with Black to learn that he had picked up the flickering trace too. That meant the Alchemist was on the material plane. And she was even sure that he was nowhere near his 'college' area. She had some idea of the area he was in now. She would have to physically find him.

Physically find him and immediately destroy him. The Alchemist falling into the hands of the enemy was too big a risk now.

~~~

Aiden once again found himself in a situation where he had absolutely no idea what was going on. This mesmerizing lady did not seem deleterious at all. In fact she had a really soothing aura. Was she going to try anything funny with him?

Aiden immediately remembered Tinka and fell on his knees, shaking Tinka by the shoulders to try and wake her up.

"She will not wake up yet." Frigeria stated as suddenly she swished her hands and their surroundings started to deform and saturate into a light blue color. Aiden stood up abruptly and looked about in a frenzied manner. All around his surroundings were disappearing, being enveloped by an azure color. The morphing of the surroundings reached completion as everything turned a soothing light blue, the ground, the walls, the alley; everything replaced by he same blue shade.

"What the…?" Aiden was still wondering what was happening. Only Frigeria, he and the unconscious form of Tinka remained in this azure universe now.

Frigeria felt White collapse in the vicinity as she send him into a sleepy subliminal state also. It was imperative that he did not interfere now, for she had to make revelations to the boy that the mighty white angel would himself never dare to make. And definitely the ones he simply did not know of. She hoped she had set up her enclave perimeter in time to prevent the Empress from detecting Aiden. Nevertheless the enemy would be approaching soon.

"Who are you?" Aiden spat out at Frigeria.

The female angel paused and calmly stated. "I am Frigeria; chief angel healer of the Kingdom of Light."

"Huh?" Aiden had a stupefied expression on his face. The angel's voice was resounding across the blue milieu, making it seem as if many melodious voices were speaking at once.

"An angel?"

"Yes, maybe this will convince you." And saying that Frigeria unfolded her great white wings, each more than 10 feet in length, which rose above the two forms and stretched up straight. Aiden could not believe what was happening.

"And I need to talk to you."

Aiden flinched at that line. He was probably hearing it for the umpteenth time in the last 2 days; especially today. First it was Dominic, then Tinka and now it seemed some heavenly angel also 'needed to talk to him'. He was dreaming wasn't he?

"So err, where are we?"

"Safe, for now."

"And what do we need to talk about?"

"About Black and White."

Aiden's brow furrowed as he realized this 'angel' wanted to talk to him about Will and Scott. Well since this was a dream and Will and Scott seemed to be the most hot topic of discussion nowadays, he might as well play along. He waited for the dark haired angel to begin.

"Since time immemorial, the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Void have been at war. The Kingdom of Light was ruled by Hazelhoem, whose guardian was Witenhoem and the Kingdom of Void was governed by the seemingly four year old girl; Empress Woe and her Guardian was Arangyunus."

Aiden's brows furrowed further as he took in the big names being thrown at him.

"The Guardian Witenhoem was better known as White, the mighty white angel who was the protector of the Kingdom of Light while the guardian Arangyunus was better known as Black, the dark Seraph who was the protector of the Kingdom of Void. The two were sworn enemies since their time of conception and though counterparts of each other, were arch rivals, forever locked in a power struggle to eliminate the other."

Frigeria paused before continuing, "Then something unexpected happened 800 years ago. Black and White fell in love."

Aiden's eye brows shot up as his ears perked up as well. What was this angel talking about?

Frigeria held out a hand as a silver globe, the size of a football materialized, levitating above her palm. Aiden squinted his eyes and stepped closer as he made out moving shapes in the sphere.

What he saw left him astounded. He saw Will in a tight embrace with Scott; the two were kissing passionately. But Scott looked almost celestial, with a golden sheen about him and what appeared to be white wings extending from his back. Will looked different with a silver glint across his entire body and massive silver grey wings with black streaks across the edges. Were these forms actually Scott and Will? Watching the scene, Aiden felt excited and repulsed at the same time.

He watched wide eyed as the two broke the kiss and Will gently ran the back of his hand across Scott's jaw.

"But outsiders it seemed, had more than just objections to this forbidden affair. It was love that was doomed from the very beginning."

The two figures in the silver globes vanished as an extremely cute girl with chubby cheeks, long curly golden hair and sparkling blue eyes sitting on an oversized throne appeared in it.

"Empress Woe, from whose elements Black was constituted, did more than just stop the affair. She obliterated Black."

"Obliterated?"

"Yes, she completely disintegrated him and wiped out his existence. She was capable of doing that since Black, her guardian was her own essence." The angel's voice still reverberated across but Aiden had gotten used to it by now.

Aiden squirmed as he watched Will recoiling from pain, screaming his guts out as Scott held onto him. Then slowly Will's form burst into flames and exploded, leaving no trace other than soot and dust particles that clung onto Scott giving the beautiful form a funereal appearance. Scott sobbed uncontrollably, and screamed out his lover's name. Aiden was left astounded, was this really Will?

This was too realistic to be a dream.

"White went into a period of severe mourning after that. He mourned for more than a decade, screaming and crying in emotional pain. Even Hazelhoem could do nothing to comfort him."

"A decade?" Aiden asked bewildered as he watched Scott's figure crouched in the corner of a white marbled room, his body shuddering as he wept, his face hidden amidst his knees.

"Yes a decade. We are Perpetuals that live forever. The pain that White felt would not subside and as much as he desired, he could not end his existence. It was a curse that he had to live with, forever."

Aiden watched the crying form as his heart wept out for Scott; the magnificent wings he had seen earlier had decayed into wispy tufts of molting feathers. Visions of Scott with blank expression and those of extreme sadness flashed by in the globe.

"But even Perpetuals sometimes feel they have lived too long. The King of Light, Hazelhoem had aged himself against the Perpetuals intrinsic forces and wished to wipe out his own existence. His powers were waning and he could no longer fight Empress Woe of the Kingdom of Void."

"Hazelhoem wanted nobody other than White to succeed his throne; but he was painfully aware of the state the guardian was in and having waited far too many years for White to get over his emotional scars he could wait no more."

Aiden watched as a wizened yet imposing old man with a long flowing white beard walked towards an emaciated Scott and gently lay a hand upon him.

"Hazelhoem, who could no longer bear to see the broken form of White, then used the remainder of his fading powers and blood sealed White's memories. Encapsulating memories of him ever having fallen in love, of him ever having had a lover who he held dearer than his own existence, within his mind, locked away by the strongest powers of the ruler himself, before he gave up his own existence and safeguarded White from his own memories, leaving him to be the ruler; the Keeper of the Light."

"But then how is Will still alive?"

Frigeria paused to glance at the inquisitive boy, but continued anyway, "White then became the ruler of the Kingdom of Light, and the enemy of Empress Woe who was left without a Guardian herself. The two were enemies that fought many harsh battles as well as many cold wars between themselves. "

"About 5 centuries after this incident Empress Woe started to reconstitute Black. Black with his former memories locked away in the chasms of his inner mind, a black that would serve as her Guardian and nothing else. It took her over 60 years to finish reconstituting him."

Aiden let out a low whistle listening to this being's tale. Could all this possibly be true?

"So where do I fit into all of this?" he asked impatiently.

"Legend has it hat someday the Alchemist would appear on the material plane. This entity would seem human by all other standards and legend says that this Alchemist would put an end to the war between the Kingdoms of Light and Dark. The Alchemist would possess power beyond the Perpetuals"

Aiden waited impatiently for Frigeria to continue though he feared he now knew the answer to his question. It seemed this angel had a knack for going all the way round whenever he asked her a direct question but the truth was that Frigeria herself was short on time and she had to explain everything to the boy as best as she could and as swiftly as she could.

"That Alchemist is you."

The two of them fell silent as Aiden absorbed this piece of news.

"Me?"

"Yes you. Aiden Writer, I bow to thee the Alchemist." Frigeria slowly got down on one knee as she bowed her head down, her wings ruffling as she did so. Aiden at once felt awkward. How the hell was he the Alchemist, and why was this angel bowing before him?

"But I don't have any… err… powers or anything. How can I be the Alchemist?"

"You are the Alchemist that had appeared on the material plane after eons of waiting and you are the one that will put an end to this endless battle."

"But what can I possibly…"

"It is you who will have to awaken." The angel bellowed rising sharply and suddenly, a striking change in behavior from a few seconds ago. Her clarion voice echoed as the many clang of bells everywhere. "It is you who must realize that you are the Alchemist and awaken his powers to end this massive battle."

"Err, Ok." Aiden was flustered by now. "But how?"

"That, my Lord, only you know."

Aiden was displeased at the enigmatic answer. What was he expected to do?

"It is you who must end this battle between the two most ardent lovers that are now enemies, for now they both love only you."

Aiden was taken aback at the last statement.

"And it is time for me to take my leave." Frigeria knew that Black and the Empress were fast approaching. She would have to somehow engage one of them on her own. And these moments would probably be the last few of her perpetual life. The azure surroundings started to dissolve as the ground and the walls of the valleys slowly came back into view. Tinka was also stirring from her slumber.

"Remember Aiden," the raven haired angel stated before she disappeared from view herself, "Be Strong!"

Aiden watched helplessly as the white clothed figure disappeared from the alley. He stooped down to awaken Tinka, shaking her slightly. The girl opened her eyes groggily. "What happened?"

Suddenly Aiden heard the sound of running footsteps. He bend over backwards as he tilted half his body out of the alley to see who it was.

It was Will. Running towards him with an expressionless face.

"Will, it's…" but the rest of the words remained stuck in his throat as out of the blue Will pulled forth two jagged black blades in is hands and with a battle roar leaped up in the air, gaining altitude before he pounced onto the boy. Aiden stood rooted with fear on the spot, unable to move even an inch as Will brought down the double blades at a high velocity. One strike and Aiden would die. It was all over.

'CLANG.' The noise resounded as the dual blades of alacrity clashed with the Helos Sabre and sparks flew in all directions. Aiden stood shivering with fear as three sword trembled mere inches before his face. Scott had protected him.

Aiden looked questioningly towards Will. His face was expressionless; dead blank; but there were tears streaming down his cheeks.

Scott pushed with all his might and swung around his sword as Will jumped backwards and gradually up erect.

"You're not going to leave a single scar on him Black!" Scott growled.

Things were happening too fast for Aiden to work out in his mind.

~~~

Empress Woe was heading towards the Alchemist. So Black had found the boy but had been engaged by White? Very well, she would have to make an appearance now and finish off things. She stopped running as she paused running and slowly disappeared from the material plane. She would teleport directly to the location.

A few seconds later she reappeared on the same dimensions she had disappeared form. She looked around confused. She once again concentrated and tried to appear next to the two guardians and the alchemist. She had to finish the boy off.

Once again she was dumbfounded as she teleported back to the exact same spot. And then she understood. It was an illusionary technique, and she was stuck in someone else's world. She knew only one person who possessed illusory techniques as powerful as this one.

"Frigeria," she muttered with anger. Very well, it would take her some amount of time but she would soon get out of this technique and would kill Frigeria as well. Then she would proceed onwards towards the Alchemist.

~~~

Aiden was still trembling with fear as the two fighters assumed combat positions, their swords glistening in the morning sun. Suddenly Black straightened himself as a pair of colossal silver grey wings emerged from his back, tearing across the shirt and standing out in all their glory. The 15 foot wings were jagged with black streaks across the edges and appeared to be comprised of dark gossamer silk, yet seemed strong and erect.

White howled as he too let out the massive white wings Witenhoem was known for; the pearly whites that had dazzled thousands. The cloth on his torso tore across leaving shreds as the wings unfurled fully and stood up in a v-formation.

Aiden stared wide-eyed, his mouth open. So these were their true forms?

"What's going on?" Tinka asked getting up unsteadily and then noticing the two angels; a dark Seraph and a Keeper of the Light.

"What the fuck?" was all Tinka elicited before she too assumed the expression Aiden had on his face.

"This ends today Arangyunus." White shrieked and leapt into the air flapping his wings as Black followed suit.

Two friends stood bewildered as the two massive shapes rose into the sky and their swords clashed. Aiden shook his head as he realized what the lady angel had been talking about earlier. So he was the Alchemist?

Aiden abruptly got up and ran towards the fighting figures. Thoughts of Will with tear strained eyes were dominating his mind. If he indeed did want to kill him, why did Will have tears in his eyes? He knew the answer this time; Will was in love with him and somehow was being forced to do things against his will.

Aiden tried to make his way towards the two angels as they clashed in the sky. It was not of much use; they were only going further apart and higher. He watched helplessly as they yelled and swung their swords at each other. How would he get the two to stop?

Aiden looked about as he noticed that 'people' had seen the sights too. And now they stood watching in awe as the spectacle unfolded ahead of them. Aiden did not even want to know what thoughts were going on inside their heads, as he strained his eyes to see the two warriors.

The final battle between Black and White had just begun.

~~~

Well I really hope you enjoyed this episode and that it answered all those questions that were being heaped upon me. The next episode is the concluding one, so be on the lookout for that. Also, if you've been liking the story, please take a moment to drop me a line; it really benefits me to hear from my readers.

Anyways, Ciao till the next episode.

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