Hey everyone. Back with the 5th episode as promised. My exam is over and I kinda screwed it up, but life must go on I guess.

Anyway, the story progresses onwards now. There have been many typing errors and missing words in my stories before and I am completely at fault for that. That's what having no editor does to you I guess. Will try to lessen the frequency of those, hope they don't completely hinder the reading experience.

And yeah, some of you have not read that tiny prologue of 'Black and White' and are a bit confused. I feel it is imperative you do so. You can find it along with the remaining part of the series. It will just take a couple of minutes to read it anyway.

Anyways, onwards with the story now.

skyunending@yahoo.com

Episode 5

Aiden sat facing Steve in the uncomfortable wooden chairs. Just the two of them sat across table. Aiden had been looking forward to the junction when the two new people in his life would meet each other. Looked like that moment was temporarily delayed.

Scott had stopped short when he came towards the table and had a livid expression on his face. He fetched out a glowing cellphone from his pocket as he signaled to the group that there was a call waiting to be answered; he walked away holding the phone to his ear. Aiden looked back at Will and noticed a raging expression which was slowly suffusing into a deadpan face. Aiden opened his mouth to say something but Will abruptly got up, pushing the chair out form under him; he stated he needed to visit the washroom.

And that left only Aiden and Steve sitting on the table for four. Aiden wondered if Scott and Will knew each other from before or something, but then let the thought slip form his mind. It was just his imagination. So it was just Steve and him at the table now.

"You know, I think Jason found out about me," Aiden stated suddenly.

"Uh?" Steve looked at his roommate with a confused expression on his face.

"I think," Aiden reiterated clearing his throat, "Jason found out I'm gay."

"What? How?"

"I don't know how but he's been acting weird since the last few days. He's been avoiding me everywhere."

Steve stared at Aiden with a credulous expression on his face. "Do you know for sure that he knows?"

"Yes I'm sure."

Steve waited for Aiden to continue.

"Today he went all red when I was in my underwear in the room. He bolted when I tried to talk to him, but it's not only that; he's shunning me everywhere else too. I'm spending every night at Will's place so I'm not in the room with you two at night, which is a good thing or he might have been sleeping in somebody else's room as well." Aiden was babbling for his mind got all jumbled up when he thought about Jason.

Aiden heaved out a deep breath and bit his lips nervously. Steve had a sorrowful expression on his face. The two sat in silence absorbing the implications of the words said.

"Well yeah, he's extremely warm and friendly," Steve finally broke the silence between them, "but when it comes to matters like this, he's totally insular."

"So what should I do?" Aiden was exasperated. He could not bear the thought of losing one of his greatest buddies.

"Look Aiden, Jason's like a spider in a web. He knows of nothing other than the universe he's in. He will be forever merry in his own happy-go-lucky world, but if something from outside his realm disturbs him, he will shut down and avoid it. I think you know this as well as I do."

Aiden nodded acknowledging the fact. He had always known that Jason was one person who would have severe trouble accepting his sexuality.

"I don't think there will be much point in approaching him, but you can give it a try."

Aiden was terrified at the thought of approaching Jason with such a matter. What in the world would he say to him?

"Actually, it's a good thing he got to know of it now." Steve continued, "With Will around so much he would have gotten to know sooner or later anyway."

"I'd prefer later than sooner." Aiden muttered under his breath. Here was a close friend of his who would balk and flee at the mention of his sexuality and there was a new friend he had made that had so casually accepted him.

"You know, Scott also knows that I'm gay."

"What?" Steve was dumbfounded again at the same matter. "Shit! Really?"

"Yeah, in fact he himself broached the subject and sorta outed me, and he's perfectly cool with it, in fact even supportive of it."

"Wow!" was all Steve could say after opening and closing his mouth a few times. "When I play tennis with him in the mornings he's always asking about you and somehow involving you in the topic. I thought he had it for you or something."

"No he doesn't!" Aiden exclaimed before his mind could let him think otherwise. The possibility that Scott was interested in him was titillating, but he had Will now, didn't he? "In fact he knows that I'm involved with Will."

"He knows Will?"

"No, he was going to meet him for the first time today, but Scott knows that I am involved with some other guy."

Steve paused before he put forward his next thought; "Shit Aiden! How the hell do you suddenly have such mind-blowing guys after you?"

Aiden coughed mockingly as Steve used 'mind-blowing' to describe guys. Aiden wondered how his life over the last few days had been absolutely dreamy, mixed with a few bumps. He had changed the way he looked, with the new hairdo and lenses which were a bitch sometimes, but he liked it. It was exactly one week ago that he had met Will, and was already so completely involved with him. How far would they go? He knew that he would try to always keep Will happy and go as far as possible with Will. Maybe they would even…

And then there was Scott. He had really hit it off with him as well. These two men that had added brilliant multicolored strokes to his black and white life. Two men that always tried to make him smile. Two men he was going to try and keep happy in return.

Aiden wondered where were those two men were now?

~~~

White stood on the deserted path at the entrance of the wide black building. A sign that would be lit in flashing red and yellow neon lights during the functioning hours of the amusement park announced that this structure was the 'Hall of Mirrors'. And the strong oppugning spiritual force oozing from inside indicated that his adversary was inside.

'So we fight here', he thought to himself as he climbed the two steps to enter the building and noticed that the chain that was supposed to be tied to two iron bars at the entrance was lying in two pieces on the floor. He pushed the sliding door and slipped inside.

White walked towards the increasing gradient of his arch opponents spirit force. He was finally going to fight Black. He could not remember if he had fought him at all before, but he had, hadn't he? He must have. It was strange then that he could not remember. He walked across the zigzag paths between the multitudes of mirrors which formed innumerable kaleidoscopical images of his form, reflecting images and after-images, some deformed and some perfectly upright.

He turned around a corner and was confronted by his titan opponent. Black stood in a centre clearing with a grim expression on his face. The passage was lined on all sides with an arcade of mirrors at various angles between which were reflected hundreds of images of the mighty dark seraph, channeling all the way to the extremely last glass mirrors.

"So we meet." White stated icily as he stepped closer to his rival. The mirrors all around were rapidly changing colors and shape to accommodate and reflect the new entry into the passage.

"So we do." Black replied as his hands swiftly fell to his sides and black mist enveloped his palms and slowly dissipated till the evanescent forms left behind two rigidly straight long sharp edged black swords that reached all the way to the ground, one in each hand. White immediately took note of the fact that Black had wasted no time in summoning his most powerful fighting companions; the 'Twin blades of Alacrity'. The thin savage black pair of swords were rumored to be capable of cutting through anything.

Instantly White concentrated his energies as a brilliant white light dazzled in front of his hand and he called upon his own battle comrade; the 'Helos Sabre', the almighty sword that had defeated Pi. But this battle White knew would be no where as 'easy' as the previous one.

Unknown to White, the telepathic voice of a little girl was booming inside his opponent's head, ordering him to come back. Black paid no heed to the voice, ignoring the commands of his Empress.

Eliciting a battle roar Black lunged towards his opponent as hundreds of mirror images everywhere changed locations rapidly. Wasting no time White swung out his sword which clashed resoundingly with the twin blades and black and white sparks scintillated from the impact. Black moved around rapidly and swung both his blades in wide circular arcs; one after the other as White countered each blow and counterattacked in return.

A mighty sword melee had begun as the two sworn enemies danced about in a hall of glasses, swords were clashing in hundreds of locations in the vicinity, as images copied out the scene in front of them. Shining white and misty black sparks flew in all directions.

White was astonished at the speed, skill and savagery of his opponent, he could barely keep up with the tempo with which the fight was progressing. He realized that if things continued like this he would have no time to cast any spells; but then neither would his adversary.

White was steadily losing ground as his redoubtable foe pushed him backward with a series of double strikes and precise cuts. He had been nicked with the stinging blade twice already and was nowhere near even touching his opponent. He swung the sword of the sun around defensively and helplessly as Black pushed him into a narrower passage filled with mirrors of all types.

Out of the blue white noticed an opening to strike as Black pulled back and seemingly rested his sword low. White lurched forwards to attack as Black chanted, "Ability of the Shadows 95; Image Replication."

White stopped his attack at the last moment. What was this? Standing ahead of him were four, no five maybe seven images of a dark angel with thin long blades in both hands. The innumerable images on the mirrored walls of Black and his illusive image forms made it almost impossible to tell the real one apart from the juxtapositions.

'Impossible but not quite', White thought to himself as he focused on a particular image and lunged forward with his sword. A lunging silver arc and sharp pain across his torso informed him that his chest had been slashed at. White screamed in pain as he skidded across the floor and crashed into a mirrored wall. The glass shattered and slivers of it sprinkled all around him. He had made a mistake. The real enemy had not been correctly recognized.

"What's the matter Witenhoem?" Black asked with a contemptuous smile on his face. "Can't you tell which one of me is real?"

White gritted his teeth as the pain as blood oozed out of a deep cut in his chest. He pressed his hand against his torso to stop the flow of blood which continued its incessant flow. He would have to go on fighting, and he would have to be more careful.

White got up and steadied himself scowling at his adversary. With a howl he lunged forward and brandished his sword in long strokes as Black counterattacked and dodged. A few swings later he finally got his first touché on his opponent as he left a streak of blood across his shoulder. A myriad of images and reflections on the hundreds of mirrors could be seen dancing around in a frenzied manner as the two warriors clashed their swords to prove their sleight of hand. Black reprised with powerful blows matched by his opponent till suddenly White was confused by a dazzling set of 'Blacks' that somehow joined the ruckus. Had Black not send away the images of his spells yet? White continued concentrating on his first opponent knowing that the images were just illusions and he had to somehow beat up only this one dark angel. A couple of strokes later he lost his opponent in the myriad of reflections, after reflections and doppelgangers that Black had created. He slashed around frantically dispelling a couple of the illusory forms of Black that vanished in fumes as soon as his sword touched them. But his real opponent had managed to evade him. Where was the real Black?

This time the blow of blades came as two punishing cruel streaks across his back as the cloth tore apart and ugly ragged lacerations were left behind by the blades of Alacrity. White grimaced and whirled around only to find Black's right foot connecting with his jaw as his body was flung across the air and plummeted against mirrors that shattered and fell clinking around him. Slivers of glass were embedded within him in several places now.

"You are really bad at this you know." Black simpered evilly as he examined his shoulder where White had left a mark. "You should possess much more skill if you want to fight for the Alchemist."

White looked disgustingly as his opponent as the dark Seraph stated, "The boy is mine," The dark angel voice was heavy with conviction. Conviction interlaced with determination that went unnoticed by White.

White got up once more unsteadily as shards of glass fell around him. The right side of his jaw where Black's foot had connected was throbbing with pain as blood trickled out from the corner of his mouth. He was having no luck with the mirrors and images; all were illusory deceptions for him. And all were contributing to give him a sound thrashing. The ruler of the kingdom of Light would not lose in such a derogatory manner!

White balanced himself on his feet as he raised himself up and to face the several images of Black that were standing menacingly around him. He held out his left palm and opened his mouth to chant, "Ability of the Light 3; Fusillading Shards."

Dozens of small crystal shaped glowing embers materialized in his palm which he flung in the space ahead of him before Black could react. The numerous crystals scattered in all directions, hitting Black and his replication images. The shards were insignificant in doing damage but easily dissipated the images leaving only the lone dark angel standing with his two dark sleek swords by his sides. White immediately lunged forward towards Black, his sword had burst into golden flames. He would put his entire being into defeating his enemy.

~~~

Aiden glanced around the restaurant expecting either Scott or Will to turn up any instant. It had been over 10 minutes since they both abruptly left him. Where were they now?

Aiden smiled apologetically at Steve before he fished out his phone to try and call Will reckoning that to be better than going into the washroom and checking up on him. A taped message informed him that the phone was switched off. Aiden 'humphed' as he excused himself from Steve and headed towards the washrooms.

~~~

The Empress of Woe was furious. It was night time; a time that prevented her from crossing over to the material plane; owing to the midnight curse that had once been placed upon her. And this was the second time during the 6 days that she needed to desperately cross over to the other side, this time to prevent her Guardian from fighting her greatest foe; at least for now. She had been commanding her dark warrior incessantly to give up the battle and return to her but to no avail. Arangyunus simply ignored her.

It looked like the dark angel was giving her sworn enemy a sound thrashing but the outcome to the battle could change any instant. And she was not prepared under any circumstances to lose her Guardian to White now. She had lost Arangyunus to White long ago, though in a very different manner and would not condone something like that happening again. She cursed the air around her as she etched a hexagon of blood on the floor of her chamber and knelt down at its centre to begin her chanting.

She would have to forcibly bring back her warrior.

~~~

Black was taken aback at the swiftness and sudden outburst of his enemy. White had cleverly destroyed all his after images with the fusillading shards and had destroyed several of the mirrors in the hall as well. They would serve to lessen his state of confusion as the two fought.

White was on a power surge, his entire body was iridescent in a golden sheen as the swords was flaming in bright golden yellow; a sign that the Keeper of the light was in a state of heightened power. The three swords swung around and clashed as the Blades of Alacrity met with the Helos Saber but Black was losing ground this time. The sheer heat his opponent was emanating form his form was scalding him. He could counter his White's heat aura with a spell but White's tempo and savagery rendered him devoid of any time to do so.

In his mad rage, White charged at his opponent as a juggernaut and several massive swings of the Helos Saber later, he had managed to severely injure Black across the abdomen. Black flinched at the slash across his abdomen as he staggered backwards into a thinner passage filled with mirrors. 'This was it!' White thought to himself. A perfect opening!

White pulled back his left hand as he hurtled forwards towards Black; one powerful punch to the face and his opponent would reel under the blow. Black whirled sideways and a horrified expression came across his face as White's extended fist came like lightning towards him.

Crash! White cursed himself as colossal pain recoiled through his arm and body. His fist had connected with a mirrored wall which now stood cracked open. He had mistakenly attacked a mirror thinking it to be his adversary. He swirled around to find his opponent but reacted too late as Black's leg swung out at his stomach and send him flying through the air for a second time.

White crashed heavily against a wall as he slumped down to the ground, still wielding his sword in hand. He had been fooled again. Was he that inefficient? His knuckles had been split open where he had pounded the wall with them and his stomach hurt to the point where his entire body was queasy with pain. He would not be able to fight for more than a few swings anymore.

"Confused again?" Black asked, standing upright with his two swords. "Won't you ever learn?"

Black's skin was searing everywhere due to the heat radiating from his rival. His abdomen had been cruelly slashed across as the cloth gave away and blood spilled out in a gruesome manner. But he was going to win this battle now. He brought forward both his swords till they formed a plus sign in front of his chest and chanted. "Ability of the Shadows 80; BlackMist Aura."

Instantly a wispy grey fog surrounded his body enveloping it and making it seem hazy and translucent. This mist would protect him from the heat of his opponent and at the same time increase the acuity of his dual swords.

He looked at his opponent who was once again groggily lifting his self up. "Do you think you can defeat me now White?"

White stood grimly with his gaze lowered toward the ground. His opponent was very powerful, with the correct combination of speed, power and precision. This was the Dark Angel after all, his own counterpart. On top of it all, his opponent could tell his real self from the since he carried a sword only in his right hand. Black carried two swords and the mirrors would not give that away by laws of linear inversion. But he could not lose now. Losing to him would mean losing the Alchemist, and he had sworn that he would protect such nobility. It did not matter if he had to part with his life, he would protect the Alchemist with his last bit of energy.

"Ability of the light 19; Raging Inferno."

As soon as those words left White's mouth, columns of flame shot of in various directions. Black raised his hand to shield himself but his mist aura was enough to fend the burgeoning flames. Fire coursed through everywhere as profiles of red flaming waves spread through all directions. The whole Building was filled with flames seeping through every corner. 'Why had White wasted such a massive amount of spirit energy in such a pointless spell?' Black wondered. These flames would not even singe him once and not even provide him cover.

As the flames died down Black received his answer. Every single mirror in the hall had been shattered. Pieces of glass, some melting, some intact lay as jagged pieces on the floor strewn everywhere. So White did not want to get confused with the mirrors and reflections anymore? But he had had to pay a high cost for this.

Black found his opponent with his hands extended in front of his torso. "Ability of the Light 21, Flaming Shot." A red ball of fire materialized in front of his palms and White send it flying through the air towards Black who easily dodged it. Black noticed a perfect opening and flung one of his twin blades out at White. He had got him now!

The sword went hurtling towards White's form at an astonishing pace and struck a mirrored surface. "What?" Black cried out as the glass shattered. This meant White was behind him!

Black turned around just in time to stop White's sword swinging out at him with his single blade of Alacrity. White was on a massive power surge, his entire form was effulgent in golden flames that formed a wild golden sphere around him. A power sphere that was threatening to engulf Black and steadily eating his 'BlackMist Aura' as the two swords strained against each other. Black was now face to face with White and saw the determination in his eyes.

White smiled through the golden flames, "What's the matter? Can't you tell which one of me is real?" Black realized how foolish he had been. He had been tricked by the only mirror that had been left standing in the hall. And now White was drastically increasing his emanations as the golden flames accumulated more and more power. White gritted his teeth as he called out to his own inner powers. But it was of no use. White was already high on his and Black would be finished before his entire strength was summoned. He was losing gradually and soon these Golden flames would engulf him and char his entire being. There was no escape. The fallen angel would cease to exist, defeated by his sworn enemy.

"Your tail ends here Arangyunus!" White yelled from amidst the flames.

Black closed his eyes and images of Aiden flashed across his mind. Images of the boy smiling, of them making love and all the events he had been through the past week raced through his mind. 'So this is goodbye to the Alchemist' Black thought to himself as his skin started peeling off from White's energy radiation. "I will always love you Aiden," he mouthed before the blinding golden energy became overwhelming.

And then there was a flash. Black's body was shrouded in fog as he suddenly disappeared from the material plane. White crashed through the fog and went plummeting towards the wall. What had happened? Had he not won the battle? Where was Black?

"Not so easy now!" the voice of a young girl reverberated across the hall. White let out a scream of agony as he realized that the Empress had pulled her guardian through from the material plane. He had been so close to destroying his arch-opponent. And with that scream he collapsed onto the floor possessing no more energy.

~~~

Aiden was perplexed. He had checked the washroom and there had been no sign of Will. He was standing outside the restaurant trying to catch a sign of either Scott or Will but there was none. He was calling Will's number continuously but was getting a message that stated that the number was switched off. He could not even get through to Scott's number. It was more than 20 minutes since both Scott and Will had disappeared. Where was everyone?

Steve stepped out of the restaurant as Aiden's phone buzzed. Aiden glanced at the display which informed him it was Will calling. He pressed the button to answer.

"Where are you?"

There was silence from the other side till a feeble voice answered. "Hey Aide, sorry ran into some important business."

"But where are you?" Aiden asked exasperatedly.

"Really sorry." Will's voice was quivering. "But can't meet up with you right now. Will meet up tomorrow. Need to go now."

"Listen wait," Aiden almost shouted into the phone. "Are you ok, you sound like you're in pain or something."

There were a few seconds of silence on the other side before Will's voice replied. "No, I'm fine."

"Ok then should I…"

"I'll call you tomorrow Aiden." Will stated cutting him off before the phone clicked and Aiden got the dead connection tone. He looked at his phone's display worriedly which informed him that the call had lasted 37 seconds. There was a message waiting too. Aiden clicked on the message icon to find a message from Scott.

'SORRY, HAD 2 LEAVE. STUCK IN SUM IMPRTNT WORK.'

"What happened?" Steve questioned as Aiden looked up at his friend with an expression of disbelief. He had no clue what to say to Steve.

~~~

White opened his eyes to find the form of a raven haired angel bend over him. He immediately raised himself and grabbed Frigeria by the shoulders. This was the second time in recent times that the raven haired angel had had to heal ruthless wounds inflicted on his body.

"Aiden, where is he?" he asked with frustration etched in his voice.

"There is no need to worry my King," Frigeria answered in her dulcet voice. The boy is safe and far from any harm."

"No, he has been seduced by Arangyunus; he has unknowingly fallen in league with the devil!" White raised himself completely from the flat marble top his body had rested upon. Immediately a shooting pain ran through his chest as he placed a hand upon it to realize that there was still a deep laceration there. Judging by the whiplash pain across his back, he was sure there were astringent welts there too. He fell to the floor on his knees, barely able to contemplate anything around him.

"The boy is safe for now." Frigeria answered and then gathered conviction in her voice. "And you need to rest for now."

"No! I must get to Aiden!" the great white angel bellowed as he raised himself using his hand as support on the marble top. He had his fist and teeth clenched at the excruciating pain he was experiencing.

"No you will not." Frigeria stated flatly as she waved both her hands in a circular motion around White's face. All the White angel saw were dozens of silver butterflies fluttering before he lost consciousness and fell. Frigeria stepped ahead to allow the colossal angel to fall on her shoulder. She knew that the spell she had used would not last very long on this powerful angel. But she had no choice.

"We cannot lose you now my king." She stated before she lay him back on the marble surface.

~~~

Empress Woe was distressed. The little girl was scurrying about making preparations for the 'Stone of Subjugation.' She was busy adding varied ingredients to a boiling cauldron. She put in a tar black diamond shaped stone the size of her fist. The stone was void right now and had no powers. It would soon have quite a few as soon as she finished with the concoction.

The body of her guardian angel stirred somewhere in the chamber. "Aiden," the almost lifeless body mumbled out.

Empress Woe was furious; here lay her mighty Keeper of the Dark, barely sustaining because of the efforts she had gone through to pull him out of the material plane, for he had been all but annihilated by her arch enemy, and all he could think about now was that boy, the Alchemist. She had been healing him continuously for several hours now and had spent too much energy on him. She angrily headed over to the semi conscious form of her dark seraph.

"You finally awaken Arangyunus." She stated icily.

Black strained as he gazed at his Empress through narrow slits of his eyes, he barely had the strength to open them. "Where is Aiden?"

The Empress gritted her teeth. This had gone far enough. She did not want a feeble lovesick nincompoop as her guardian. She would have to take matters into her hands directly now. She spat on Black's face before she haughtily strode off, back to her simmering cauldron.

The little girl picked up a stiletto and positioned her hand over the boiling concoction. Without flinching she pricked her hand as two drops of blood fell into the boiling mixture. Black fumes started fuming out as the cauldron's contents changed various shades of grey and silver. The little girl then put in her bare hand into the seemingly piping cauldron and pulled out the diamond stone she had immersed earlier. The stone was now dazzling an evil glint of Black and silver, similar to the shades of the cauldron's ingredients.

"I need to get to Aiden." Black stated feebly as he managed to sit upright after much effort. His whole body was reeling under excruciating pain. His skin felt like it had been left in an oven to bake. He could barely gather the strength to sit upright.

"No you need not." Empress Woe stated whirling around. She held an iridescent stone in her tiny palm. The 'Stone of Subjugation'.

The Ruler of the dark smiled evilly. Now all she had to do was let her guardian rest for some time till he healed and then the stone would do the remaining work for her. Till that time she herself would have to descend onto the material plane and assume the Alchemist's lover's form.

Black strained his eyes to make out what his mistress held in her hand. He had no idea what the shiny gem was. He had no clue that the shiny gem would soon be embedded inside him.

~~~

"I need to talk to you." Aiden stated flatly as he entered his room and shut the door behind him. Jason looked up from the automobile magazine he was reading as his face went pale.

"Uhhh?" was all Jason could muster with a deer caught in the headlights expression.

"We need to talk Jason." Aiden stated firmly.

"What aba.." Jason stammered. "What about?"

Aiden bit his lips nervously. All the determination he had gathered melted away. How would he proceed now?

"It's about Will." Aiden finally stuttered. He was losing his calm. "No, it's about me actually," he corrected himself.

"So?" Jason uttered after a few seconds of silence.

Aiden was having a hard time. This was way more difficult than his 'Electromagnetic Field Theory Examination'. What the hell should he say now?

"Listen Jase," Aiden finally started. "I'm a bit different from you." Aiden cursed himself at the way this confrontation was going as he noticed Jason fidgeting nervously with his phone, rolling it around in one hand.

"Will is a close friend of mine." Aiden stated as he mentally banged his head against the wall. Hadn't he already thought of what he would say to Jason? Where had all of that disappeared to? "In fact we're more than friends."

Jason was turning beet red as Aiden progressed. Unexpectedly he shot up from the chair he was sitting on. "I need to go." He stated in a mild voice as he made a beeline for the door. Aiden was taken aback at Jason's sudden movements.

"Wait Jason, I just need to…" the rest was left unheard as Jason swiftly exited and slammed the door behind him before Aiden could recover. Aiden stared at the closed door with an annoyed expression on his face. What had he been thinking? Why had it not gone off well? Should he chase after Jason? No, judging Jason, it was evident that the boy had bolted off as fast as his legs could carry him. What should he do now?

~~~

Aiden stepped out of the elevator onto Will's floor, still holding his phone to his ear. He had been trying both Scott and Will at regular intervals since a long time and taped messages relayed that both the phones were switched off. His anxiousness was driving him crazy. Had Will ditched him or something? No that was not possible; he had promised that he would always stay by his side. And where the hell was Scott?

He neared Will's door and rang the bell with his phone still attached to his ear. This time Will's phone rung. And he could hear Will's muffled ringtone from the other side of the door.

Abruptly the door swung open as Will stood in front of him with a ringing phone in his hand. Aiden disconnected his side as the phone ceased ringing. "Will, what happened?"

"What happened?" his lover asked with a grave expression on his face.

"What happened yesterday? Where did you disappear?"

"Oh, I got caught up in some official work." his lover stated nonchalantly. The Empress was impersonating her guardian for the moment. There was no problem with her entering the material plane during daytime. She would have to fill in temporarily till Arangyunus recovered. And she was feeling nauseous by the sheer feelings of icky love and possessiveness the Alchemist was emanating. This would be more difficult than she had thought.

Aiden looked at his lover with an incredulous expression on his face. Something was amiss. "Will, are you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Perfect." The Empress replied faking a smile though she felt the least bit like it in the proximity of this boy.

"Listen Aiden," the Empress stated as the boy continued to stare at her. "I have some important work for the day. We'll meet at night." Empress Woe wanted nothing more than to get away form the boy at this moment. She watched as his face fell.

"You can have this till then." She stated handing over a set of keys to Aiden. Aiden's eyes grew wide as he realized that Will had just tossed over to him his Lamborghini's keys.

"But I…"

"I need to hurry Aiden, I'm already late for work," the Empress of the Dark stated coldly.

"Ok." Aiden stated timidly before he stepped closer to gently kiss his lover. The Empress immediately stepped back. "Bye, have fun!" she stated before she slammed the door at an astonished Aiden.

Aiden wondered what the hell had just happened.

~~~

Aiden was in a sour mood when he entered his robotics class. Things were awry in his life and he had no proper explanation for them. Maybe spending some time with electronic circuits would take his mind off worrying matters.

Dominic and Storm greeted him as he entered. Scott, their instructor was still to come. Aiden settled down next to the pair and took out the necessary equipment from his bag.

"Did you finish reading the microcontroller book I gave you day before?" Dominic asked turning sideways to face Aiden. Aiden slapped his forehead; he had completely forgotten that Dominic had given him that book to read up before they properly started the microcontroller bit of the project. Dominic had even stressed of the importance of doing reading it.

"Did you at least get the green LED's and 9V battery from the shop at Crawfy market?" Dominic had his eye brows raised. Aiden felt like shit. He had forgotten about that as well. And this was Dominic here grilling him. How the hell could he have forgotten something Dominic had asked him to do; not once but twice?

"Shit, sorry. I forgot." Aiden looked mournfully at his friend who gave him a highly disappointed look. Aiden felt like he would do anything to rid Dominic of that expression for him. Scott entered the room just then.

"So everyone's all ready to continue?" Scott asked trying to sound cheerful but Aiden could sense that something was off. Scott looked drained and tired. And he was the kind of guy who always looked fresh. Even his golden blonde hair seemed somewhat matt. Aiden passed it off as his over active imagination thinking and started working on the circuits before him.

White could sense the turmoil going on in the boy's head. He had awakened from Frigeria's soporific spell just a few minutes back and had argued with the raven haired angel to be allowed to go on to the material plane. Ultimately, he had come to meet Aiden against Frigeria's wishes. He still felt weak and there were still scars on his back and torso but he would try to remain calm in front of Aiden. It seemed Aiden had not yet encountered Arangyunus which meant the latter was still healing somewhere in the Kingdom Of Void. White continued to subtly assist the trio in their work as they assembled various wires and electronic components.

Aiden was having a hard time concentrating on his work. There were just too many other things racing through his mind. He was working for quite some time quietly next to Dominic when suddenly the latter spoke up. "Aiden, are you and Scott somehow involved together or something?"

Aiden turned 50 shades of red. What the hell was Dominic saying? Did Dominic know that Aiden was gay? Was he repulsed by the fact? And why the hell was he referring to Scott as well? What the hell was happening to his world today?

Aiden was saved from further interrogation by Storm who ambled over to the pair and settled down with them to assist them in their circuit. Aiden could hardly work anymore. His hands were trembling and he could not make sense of what was going on around him. A few minutes later Scott called it a day and asked everyone to wrap up.

Aiden quietly collecting his stuff as Dominic and Storm left the room. He wanted his friends to leave and go ahead so he would not have to meet them. At least for that moment.

White sauntered over and settled down on the stool next to Aiden. He could sense the disheveled mental state the boy was in. And it touched him to the core that the boy was so disturbed. Telling the boy about the devil Arangyunus was not an option currently. The boy would probably break down entirely. So what could he do to help?

"Where did you disappear yesterday?" Aiden asked in a slightly acerbic tone. White was surprised at the sudden question. But he knew he was partly at fault for the Alchemist's current state.

"I, err, got suck in some important work," he fibbed. "A friend came over and I had to go pick him up at the airport."

"I wanted you to meet Will."

White exhaled long and hard. He definitely had met Will. It was just that the Alchemist had no clue of it. "It's ok; I'll meet him next time. I did message you stating that I had to leave though," he stated as if that justified everything. White was lying through his teeth. And he sucked at it. At that moment Aiden could clearly read it on Scott's face that the latter was lying and White himself was aware that Aiden knew that.

Aiden chewed his lips nervously. Life suddenly seemed shallow to him. Meanwhile White was having a hard time keeping his feelings in control. The Alchemist was radiating need for compassion like a raging fire. His sorrow was affecting the entire atmosphere around. He seemed so innocent and so vulnerable. White was suddenly overwhelmed by the fragility of this boy. He could not resist it any longer. He closed his eyes, moved towards Aiden and slowly lowered himself to kiss the boy.

Aiden did not move budge his sitting position. White had pressed his lips against him. But Aiden had not let himself be kissed. The two pairs of lips were separated by two fingers; one index and one middle finger, both belonging to Aiden, that had been gently but firmly placed before their lips could meet. Those fingers of his acted as a barrier, preventing their lips from meeting.

White opened his eyes when he felt hard fingernails rather than soft lips. And then he saw the sorrow in the boy's eyes. The boy did not want this to happen.

Aiden silently raised himself from the stool and picked up his bag. White looked at him with deep rooted grief. What had he done? He did not know what to say anymore. He watched with a sorrowful expression as Aiden quietly left the room. He did not know what to say. Why had he suddenly lost control? Why had he done that?

White wished he had the power to turn back Time.

~~~

Aiden slammed the door of Will's black Lamborghini as he got in. He turned the key and revved up the engine. The car purred to life as he ruthlessly pressed the accelerator and sped off.

He was confused earlier. Now his mind was in a state of utter chaos. His whole world had turned upside down. First there was Scott and Will who had left him in the lurch yesterday night without a proper explanation. Then there was Jason who he was slowly losing; trying to talk to Jason was like frantically clutching on to a bundle of wispy straws. Then there was Will who was jilting him today by neglecting his needs, and seemed to think that a sleek car could be used to bribe his lover. Dominic had shown disappointment in him on two fronts as well; first on responsibility and then had hinted that he knew Aiden was gay. And he had even accused him of being involved with Scott. And what the hell had Scott attempted right now? Why the fuck had he tried to kiss him?

Aiden pressed the accelerator even harder as he shifted the gear to a reckless level. He was pissed, angry and muddled. Who should he go to now? Will and Scott were out of he question. So were Dominic and Storm. He was avoiding Tinka since yesterday after their visit to Will's retirement home. Who should he turn to now?

Just then Aiden noticed Jason walking on the opposite side of the road. He had his I-Pod earphones plugged in and was strolling back to college campus. Jason turned as he followed the motion of the svelte black car as it sped by.

Aiden decided this was it. He braked abruptly as the tires screeched and took a u-turn. Jason watched open-mouthed, paralyzed on the spot as the car skidded to a halt next to him. The passenger door slid up as he was greeted by Aiden with a very determined expression on his face.

"Get in Jase."

Jason frantically looked around before he shrugged his shoulders and got in. The door slid down and shut.

'At least the car can be used to intoxicate Jason', Aiden thought to himself. He switched gears as the car zoomed ahead.

"Jason, I really needed to talk to you before, but you would not let me."

Jason had a flustered expression on his face. Between the enthralling effect the car was having on him and Aiden's inquisitions and confessions, he did not know how to respond.

Aiden steeled himself as he blurted out, "Jason, I'm gay."

Aiden turned to watch Jason's expression as the boy turned crimson. "Yeah… ok," Jason replied in a timid voice.

"This car is Will's," Aiden continued, "And he's my boyfriend." Aiden was not so sure anymore if he could use that term for Will. Was Will his boyfriend anymore? He sure was not acting like it since last night. Then he cursed himself for thinking negative thoughts about someone who had given him so much joy.

"Ok," was all Jason replied in an even feebler voice. Aiden did not know what to say anymore. Jason looked absolutely crestfallen; as if he himself had just been outed or something. The car screeched to a halt once more as Aiden applied the brakes.

"Jason, you can leave if you want to now." Jason let out a whoosh of air as he slid the door up and scrambled out.

"Jase," Aiden called out as the fumbling form bend over to listen before he dashed off. "I'm still your friend."

"Yes," was all Jason stated in a goofy manner before he literally fled from the spot. Aiden stared at his eyes in the rearview mirror. They looked bloodshot, as if he had not slept for days.

He wondered how things would turn out in the time to come.

~~~

Black opened his eyes from a forced slumber. Immediately he made out the form of his Empress waiting for him to gain consciousness.

"You're awake Arangyunus," The little lass stated coldly. "Awake and unbridled."

Black tried to raise himself from the platform he lay on. He still felt weak though the agonizing pain he had felt when he had last gained consciousness was no longer there.

"And you shall be unbridled no more," the little girl stated as she held up a shiny stone for Black to see. Black was confused at his Mistress' behavior. What was the Empress doing?

And with a sudden motion the Empress flung the stone at him. Black felt a stinging pain as the gem struck him on his torso directly over where his heart was and remained stuck there. He looked helplessly at his Mistress not understanding what was happening.

The Stone suddenly burst out into black flames as it started to get absorbed into Black's body. Black looked in fear as the gem sunk slowly into his chest and his body absorbed it. He caught hold of the crystal with one hand and tugged at it fruitlessly. The stone showed no signs of stopping its sinking motion.

Black looked up with apprehension and terror on his face. What was Empress Woe doing to him?

And within those moments the stone sunk in completely and incorporated itself into his heart. All signs of question and trepidation immediately vanished as the stone completed its preparation. Black stood rigid and straight as his eyes turned from intense green to icy white for a couple of seconds before they returned to their normal state; a sign that the parasite had worked. He then immediately fell to his knees to bow in front of his mistress.

"You had gotten too wild Aranyunus. It is time that I fully control you." And that is exactly what the little girl intended to do with the 'Stone of Subjugation' buried deep inside the dark angel.

~~~

Ok, so this one ends here. Be on the lookout for the next Episode. That's supposedly the penultimate one.

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