Chapter 5   Showdown   authors: Overlord - red , Veyanne - yellow , Temptress - blue

The Overlord took another step into the room, his eyes fixed on the naked woman on the cross.

"Veyanne..." he whispered.

"Don. I knew you'd come."

The Temptress glared at the woman on the cross... feeling the blood rush to her face.  She knew this was the woman they were to save, but she didn't like it one bit...

Then he quickly turned toward the woman next to him, still holding hands. He felt how the Temptress was suddenly holding back and he saw how she looked at the sorceress. A faint smile went over his face as he felt her jealousy.

"Don't worry love....it's not what you think."

She quickly turned towards the Overlord.. her dark eyes piercing his... questioning.

In the meantime, the man in the dark robe had turned toward the cross, spreading his arms. He seemed to pray silently. The preacher behind him was shouting from the pulpit, telling everyone who wanted to hear how God Himself was going to strike His enemy down.

Suddenly, electric bolts were sparking from the ends of the silver cross and blue flames seemed to lick the naked body of the sorceress. She jerked and at the same time the dark Overlord collapsed to the floor.

The sorceress barely felt the pain. She was almost completely numb. She blocked it out of her mind and concentrated on building the magic within her. She knew they would need her to be strong.

"Hallelujah!" screamed the congregation in one voice.

The Overlord held up a trembling hand towards the Temptress. She saw that he tried to say something and knelt next to him. With clenching teeth, he tried to speak, but the sheer agony he somehow experienced made it almost impossible. Yet he managed to get some words out:

She took his hand as she knelt down beside him... terrified with what was happening to her lord..  the intense jealousy forgotten.

"What is happening.. why is she doing this to you?"  her voice trembled with fear and anger.

"Get .... High-Priest.... save ....... sorceress.... "

He tried to hand her his gun but failed. The weapon fell out of it's holster but he She picked up his gun.  The cool black metal gave a overwhelming sense of
power... its weight felt good in her hand.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noted three Arch-angels approaching...
she quickly checked the chamber... only enough for two of them.
couldn't grab it.

"..... gun..." he urged her through gritting teeth.

She picked up his gun.  The cool black metal gave a overwhelming sense of power... its weight felt good in her hand.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noted three Arch-angels approaching... she quickly checked the chamber... only enough for two of them.

The dark robed priest waved his arms higher in the air and the thunderbolts were now covering the entire length of the cross. The naked woman was twitching and jerking violently, yet she remained completely silent. The Overlord however rolled on the floor, kicking and screaming, as if he experienced much of the pain she was supposed to feel.
 
She started to take aim when it hit her.  Looking down at her lord... she could feel him enter her mind.  She could hear his words, but his lip didn't move... except for the grimace from the pain..

After listening carefully, she knew what she must do.  She gave his cheek one last soft caress, then jumped up to make a run for it.  It was imperative that she evade the angels... she was out-numbered by far.  How could he expect her to do this on her own...  It was possible for her to fight one of them, but not three!  There had to be a way...

All she could hope for was escaping into the mass of people.  She ran toward a pew and pushed her way through... knocking people down, crawling over them.  Once in the center, she ducked under the pew in front.. she must make it to the front of the room..

She crawled under the pews.. slipping between people's feet, forcing her way past.  At the third row from the front, a man reached down and grabbed her
hair... pulling her up to display her for one of the angels...  It made its way down the aisle toward her.  The Temptress pummeled the man holding her with her elbow.  The direct blow to his mouth set her free, but only to have the angel grab her shoulder.  She placed the barrel of the gun in her hand and used the butt to bludgeon the creature until he too let go..  shattering its forearm, then kicking it in the chest.  She once again forced her way through the people, but this time it was out into the main aisle...

Dreaming... it all began to feel like a dream.... She ran toward the pulpit.. gun out in front... stopping to take aim, but not well enough... the bullet ripped through part of the High-Priest's neck and shoulder... not phasing him in the slightest...  spewing blood and bits of flesh and bone on the preacher behind him...  then exploding into the preacher's chest... silencing his odious sermon   The High-Priest turned to her with an insane grin on his face..

"You stupid bitch!  You will never destroy me."  "Grab her!" he screamed at one of the Arch-angels...

She took more care this time in her aim...

The sorceress looked down and saw the woman struggling. She saw an arch-angel about to hit her. The sorceress moved her index finger. The magic flowed. The arch-angel's fist was caught in mid air.

just as the bullet left the barrel an angel grabbed her arms... twisting them behind her back...

The bullet was dead on target... hitting the High-Priest right between the eyes...

Christopher looked in utter disbelief, his eyes crossing as if trying to see the hole between them. As his limbs collapsed under him, one final thought crossed his shattering mind: why?

As soon as the High Priest was down, the flock cried out in terror and dispersed in panic. The other priests tried to call them to arms, but it was in vain now that their leader was dead. Panic swept through the chapel. Near the far end of the room, a dark man rose to his feet. The electric bolts had ceased to torture the Sorceress and the Overlord was once more in control of his own body. He shook the dust and pain from his shoulders, straightened his entire impressive length and bared his teeth.

"Showdown!"

His eyes fixed on the three arch-angels who were ready to dismember the blackhaired scantily dressed woman in their midst. The Temptress was still fighting like a cat, but she was no match for the silver creatures. The Overlord launched forward, propelled by dark shadows forming on his back. He was already in full flight when the pitch-black wings appeared. His body seemed to become a black mist absorbing much of the light from the torchlit room. One of the arch-angels noticed and quickly glanced around. He shrieked in alarm as he saw the Overlord hurling towards him. The hands that buried themselves deep inside his chest seemed to radiate blackness, eating it's way through the silver body like acid. The arch-angel fell apart with a deafening cry, which stopped the others just as they were ready to crush the Temptress with one final blow. The woman fell numb to the floor when they dropped her.

They circled around their most dreaded opponent, ready to jump him, eager to slay him. But the Overlord didn't wait for them. He went straight up and soared through the room. The angels followed him in formation.

The Overlord checked mentally if the Temptress was alright. She was shaken and bruised and lost most of her red leather garments. The Overlord smiled when he heard her comments and felt relieved she was alright. Then he pleaded with her to release Veyanne from the cross as soon as possible while he dealt with the arch-angels.

The temptress staggered over to the crucifix and stared up at the sorceress. She searched around for a way to lower the cross. She couldn't find anything. She decided to smash it down. She picked up a chunk of concrete and hit the base of the cross with it. A piece of the cross was knocked away. The cross shook.

"Wait.", said the sorceress, "Let me try."

The sorceress focused on the pin in her left hand. Slowly it started to turn. She focused on the pin in her right hand. Slowly it began to turn. She did the same to the pin in her feet. The pins pulled out of the cross and fell to the floor. The sorceress fell but the temptress reluctantly caught her. The temptress was a lot stronger than she appeared to be.

He made a looping, scratching the ceiling while at it. One of the angels cut him short and sliced through his shoulder. The blackness suddenly seemed to leak out, dripping to the floor like black droplets of blood. The Overlord turned again, shaking the pain off. Then he made a whole series of loopings, turns and tight angles, shooting through the room like a dolphin through water. Slowly the stalking angels gained on him but when he started to loop again, he swooped sideways instead and then darted back, right at them. They screamed and tried to fall sideways, but his speed was enormous as he swept between them. His black-holed wings stretched and licked at them, slicing one of the creatures in two. His form exploded in mid-air and silver bodyparts rained down on the few still left in the room.

Then the Overlord held still in midair and watched as the final arch-angels threw himself at him. The silver man screamed in utter frustration and anger, his silver hands stretched out to tear the dark mist in pieces. But he never got close enough. Suddenly the wings of the Overlord folded forward, embracing the angel in darkness. The creature cried out in terror and it tore at the dark wings in despair. It's razor-sharp hands cut through, slicing the shadow, but his body was already dissolving and he didn't have time enough to break free. Both the shadow-lord and the angel of light fell down. When the Overlord got up, he folded his broken and torn wings and looked down at the pitiful remains of a once proud angel.

The temptress and sorceress watched the overlord in awe. He was so powerful. They were so glad he was on their side.

The sorceress pulled on her robe which was lying next to the cross. The temptress looked around anxiously for anyone who was going to attack them. No one did. They were either attacking the overlord or wisely running away.

Then lasers streaked the dark man. The priests had aimed their guns and were now trying to blast the Overlord with all they could muster. The Overlord looked around, beaming his blackness at his attackers. The lasers didn't affect him one bit and even the exploding grenade that hit him full in the chest was quite harmless to him while he was in shadow-mode. The room filled with his bellowing laughter and then he leapt forward to where a couple of priests were desperately trying to hit something vital. His hands sliced through them as if they were ripe melons. Blood gushed out of opened arteries, spraying on those close by. The black mist seemed unaffected and dark as before. A second grenade exploded against the back of his head and the Overlord growled in discomfort. He tore off a piece of a bench and threw it like a spear. A priest looked in terror as the wood buried itself into his chest. The grenade launcher slipped from his hands and he fell without a further sound.

"He loves you, you know.", the sorceress said, "He loves you deeply."

The temptress glared at her. Then she looked down. "He loves you more. I saw how he was when he felt your pain. He's never felt that way about me."

"What we share is different.", the sorceress wanted to make the temptress understand. "A long time ago he used to be a follower of God's Chosen One. He was a holy terror. He slaughtered many non-believers for sport. His rage was legendary. His prowess in battle was unmatched"

"One day he met me.", the sorceress continued, "He saw me as evil and attacked me. I cast a simple spell and made him fight against himself. He was so overcome with anger he couldn't see through the magic. He fought to the point of collapse. Then he turned his weapon on himself. He couldn't face defeat. I stopped him in time."

"I took him in. I helped him control his anger. I freed him from the lies of God's Chosen One. He was grateful. He fell in love with me, but it was love I couldn't return. You see, we were not equals. He held me up to be like a goddess. He worshipped me. I had promised myself never to take advantage of someone so vulnerable even though I had strong feelings toward him. It angered him that I could not give him my love. He left me. We had not spoken since then, until now."

"Why does he feel your pain?", the temptress asked.

"He made some sort of bond with me." the sorceress shook her head, "I don't understand how he did it, but he could always feel when I was feeling pain. He wanted to be able to rescue me if I got in trouble. He told me he wanted me to bond with him in the same way. I couldn't. He was crushed."

The Overlord jumped and ran around, cutting and slicing through bodies, harvesting the dead, covering the floor with blood and twitching body-parts. When he finally reached the pulpit, it was all over.

"He never bonded with me.", the temptress looked away. She was trying hard to control her anger. Her jealousy was eating away at her.

"I feel he wants to, but he's afraid.", the sorceress told her. "He doesn't want to have his love go unreturned. Understand that he is yours now. I will not fight you for him. One day he may be able to open up to you completely. Don't give up hope."

The Overlord looked at the devastation with satisfaction. The black mist disappated and his normal body emerged. His black uniform was torn and stained. He was bleeding from his leg and shoulder, but it didn't seem to bother him. The two women approached him, both with their own thoughts and agenda's. They would have to wait a little longer. The final moment was coming near. He turned toward the curtain near the altar and gestured the women to follow him in.

The room was quite different from the previous one. This room was filled with equipment, strange machines humming to themselves, sculptures from someones nightmare. In the middle of the room, there was a portal of light, throbbing and twitching.  The Overlord walked towards the light and stopped. He took a cigar from his pocket and lit it.