Chapter 32 - Fall

Iris

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"You gave me a name, Valkyre."
Corryn cocked his head to one side, an empty, sad smile on his face.
"I used to have a name. I don't know what it is any more, but there is still the slightest chance it might've been the one you've given me, eh?"
The angel remained silent, not sure what to say. Human? Him? He should've known. He'd been able to feel no aura from him, but he'd just assumed that it'd been something to do with the labs. Then again, Corryn wasn't of any truly existing species, so he wouldn't really be able to have an aura...
"I doubt it," Valkyre murmured at length, quietly. Corryn laughed sharply.
"So you have no faith in anything, archangel?? No hope?"
"I don't believe in restoring the world," Valkyre replied, a bit too quickly. The angel lowered his gaze, staring at the earthen ground. His fingers ran over the damp, soft soil. How had Corryn found somewhere like this?? Valkyre had seen and touched soil only a few times before in his life. Everything else about the world was barren, empty wasteland.
The world truly did seem dead. But even so... The angel's amethyst gaze settled on the gray form sleeping on the ground.
He did not believe Iris could bring it back. And even if he could, if it meant hurting him... ...Valkyre wasn't sure he'd sacrifice the boy for it.
"What do you believe in then, angel with black wings??"
Corryn's voice was taunting again as the other drew closer, eyes bright through the tangled dark hair.
Valkyre only shook his head, watching him warily but making no move to draw away.
"I don't know what I believe in," he answered honestly. "I just... try to live."
Corryn seemed to sigh with him, briefly closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he was calm and serious once more, another sudden change in mood, in direction.
"What are humans like, Valkyre?"
The other shook his head, not giving the angel a chance to speak.
"I claim to be human, and I was. But I don't remember anything. I can speak, I can think, but I have no memories. Anything of me that was human is dead.
"And what I am now... ...It is barely anything more."
Corryn blinked, darting off suddenly to the side, chuckling softly again, circling around the other, who didn't move, though he followed calmly with his eyes.
"I don't want your pity of course, archangel. I just want you to know..."
The other leaned in closer, breath on Valkyre's cheek, stirring the inky strands of hair near his ear.
"...This is why I am not afraid to fight. And this is why I will fight... to keep Iris."
The angel closed his eyes, breathing slowly. He wasn't startled when the other suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder, but glanced over calmly to see Corryn smiling back at him serenely, chin propped up on his hand.
"You're brave, Valkyre. You aren't afraid of me."
The angel 'hmph'ed lightly under his breath.
"I know I'm not going to die," he replied. Corryn shrugged lightly, sighing.
"Of course," he murmured. "I know you're not stupid. But maybe," he added, looking back at the other, "You should be more worried. After all, you won't leave here without Iris. And I won't let you leave with him.
"Or," he considered, tilting his head to the other side, "Perhaps you'll simply leave here?? Without him?"
Valkyre stiffened, but he shook his head.
No.
It didn't matter what'd happened between Corryn and Iris. It might seem selfish and heartless, but Valkyre was determined to leave with Iris.
The other snarled suddenly, jerking away.
"You can't win, Valkyre," he hissed, crouched between the angel and the still form of the boy, protective. "You know nothing about Iris," he spat, "And you will only end up hurting him."
Corryn's eyes gleamed in the darkness, bright tarnished-gold drops in the dim light.
"Do you know what they did to me in the labs, archangel?? They tore me apart. They cut me, they drowned me, they drained my blood.
"I'm alive because I was strong enough, because I could become stronger and stronger. I had no real purpose, no meaning."
The skeletal joints rising from his back jabbed at the ground, flaring and drawing back again, agitated like the rest of his body, but seemingly with a mind of its own, a creature living off of him that he couldn't control.
"Iris gave me a reason to live. I survived for him alone. There is nothing else to me!"
Valkyre saw the movement, but he wasn't able to dodge it quickly enough. The bare-boned limb slammed against his body full in the chest, impossibly fast and powerful for the twisted, thin bone it seemed to be made of, smashing him against the wall of dirt, lifted a full foot off of the ground. He thought he heard a rib crack.
The angel grabbed at the blood-caked skeletal joint, struggling to breathe, trying to push himself up and at the same time push the limb away. Neither worked, the bone pressed up against him strong as a bar of steel.
He was glad now that he hadn't tried to take on the other earlier; it would've probably resulted in something even worse than this. Valkyre could clearly see now why he had been one of the experiments to survive.
Corryn stalked closer, other twisted limbs jabbing and cutting deep gouges in the dirt, face drawn back in that feral snarl.
"I lost him, archangel. You have no idea how painful it was. I could feel myself dying. And then... ...then I found him again. All of you, you seek to hurt him. I won't let you."
Corryn stood up on his legs, seeming suddenly unsteady, forced to remain upright. The bone joints stabbed into the ground, holding him up, but at the same time, fresh, dark red blood was leaking down his back. The angel could see the pain in his eyes, in his stiff movements.
Valkyre gasped as the limb pressed harder against his ribs, sharp pain shooting through his chest and his back. He couldn't breathe, fumbling as he tried to grab at the seal that was, unfortunately, also pinned down beneath the blood-stained bone.
"Corryn."
The voice was soft, almost inaudible, but both of them heard it, and Corryn froze immediately.
Behind him, Iris stared back at the two of them with blank eyes.
The boy seemed to study them patiently for a moment, then stepped forward wordlessly, reaching out and touching one of the twisted bones curved over into the ground. Corryn shuddered, entire body trembling. The limb pressed to Valkyre loosened just slightly, allowing the angel to gasp in a breath, voice hoarse.
"I-Iris"-
The boy didn't reply, only moved forward and touched Corryn's shoulders, expression still hollow, even as he stared down at the startled golden.
Iris remained silent as he leaned closer, fingers playing along the bloodied dark bone, lowering his head until his lips pressed to the torn flesh of the other's back, hands stroking the stiff joints gently, soothingly.
Valkyre felt the limb pull away, and the angel dropped with a muffled sound to the ground, too startled to move, able only to watch.
Slowly, the blood-stained bone folded up, bent onto itself, shrinking, melting into nothingness again, leaving a hollow void, leaving the form of Corryn small and crumpled, the black-ringed eyes tired through the matted hair and the dirt-smeared face, suddenly all-too human, so weak and frail.
"Iris..."
Valkyre watched wordlessly as Corryn turned around, slowly, hands trembling. He sank to his knees, shoulders hunched, breathing raspy, broken. Like all of the power he'd shown earlier, all of his fury and strength, had been drained, sucked away, leaving a negative void, an emptiness he couldn't fill.
He seemed like just a hurt, weak child, reaching up and touching Iris' arm, curling up against him, face burrowed in the boy's shirt, leaving Valkyre to stare at the torn and ripped flesh of the other's back, splattered and slick with drying black blood.
The angel wanted to speak up, to stop this, but he couldn't bring himself to break this moment, to intrude. Iris... ...Iris and Corryn...
He stared on wordlessly as the boy closed his eyes, calmly, then slowly wrapped his arms Corryn's shuddering body, hands brushing lightly over the torn, scarred skin, staining themselves in the darkened blood.
Valkyre felt that something in his chest clench almost painfully, and he made as to move forward, to pull Iris away from this dangerous, unstable creature. What was this flare of emotion? ...Jealousy???
The boy looked up at the angel, then smiled gently. He shook his head.
Valkyre bit his lip, but he stayed where he was. What was Iris doing??
The boy touched Corryn's shoulder, leaning down and whispering in the other's ear, quiet words that the angel just barely made out; "Let us alone. Let me talk to him," Iris breathed, seeming to sigh more than speak.
Corryn jerked away at the words, face torn in anguish, in hurt.
"Why??" He demanded, desperation showing in his eyes, voice cracking. "Why him?? What's he to you?!?"
Iris only smiled faintly, enigmatic and hollow. "Please," he murmured quietly. "You have to."
Corryn shook his head stubbornly, frantic. "No," he hissed, "You don't know that. They'll hurt you, all of them. You can't trust them!"
The boy sighed gently, closing his eyes. The other stared back blankly, last shreds of hope fading from his eyes. Corryn's shoulders slumped, and he crawled to the side, gaze still lingering on Iris, pleading.
The boy ignored him, empty gray eyes settling on Valkyre. The angel stumbled to his feet, stepping over to the other slowly, carefully, eyes flickering to Corryn, who stood where he was, seeming helpless, obviously wanting to rush forward but held back... by Iris? Did the boy somehow hold power of him?? It didn't make sense.
Valkyre touched Iris, felt the familiar cool skin and the dulled, misty presences sliding beneath the surface. The angel forgot about everything else then, wrapping his arms around the boy as he sat down. He sighed gently, closing his eyes. Iris' hand was light and soft as it brushed his face, cooling on his flushed skin.
When Valkyre opened his eyes again, Corryn was nowhere in sight. The angel blinked rapidly, looking around through the darkness. No sign of him.
"Valkyre."
The boy looked up at him with his usual empty expression, then he dropped his hand and curled up against the other. Valkyre sighed, touching the boy's hair.
He was relieved that Iris was next to him again, and that the boy was no difference. But a greater part of him was still worried, still confused.
"Iris?"
The boy blinked open his eyes to briefly regard him. The angel sighed, looking down at his own hands.
"What's... Why do you... ...Corryn, he..." Valkyre scowled at his inability to put the questions in his head into coherent sentences. Why did Iris help Corryn? How could the boy convince him to go away?? He just didn't know how to phrase them right, his endless questions about Iris... ...Did the boy know he himself wasn't from the labs?
"Valkyre."
Iris smiled up at the angel, drawing his attention back. His voice was still so soft, so light and gentle.
"...I don't know what I'm here for... but I saw him, and he was hurting..." Iris sighed. "I couldn't do anything with myself, but his body, his pain... ...I could help him. Just by being there."
The boy smiled gently to himself. "I don't know if I have a purpose, but he... gives me one. I can help him, so I do. It's enough... for me."
Valkyre stared into the empty gray. He could tell, just by looking, that the boy knew. Iris knew in truth what he might be, but he still thought himself without purpose... ...Did he?
"Iris... Do you still want to live?"
The boy made no reply, only gazed down at nothingness, at his own slender, pale hands. "I'm afraid of dying... without purpose."
"You do have a purpose!" Valkyre touched the other's cheek, making him look up at him. "You were created by the world, of course you were. I should've known that no humans could create you. And... so there has to be a reason for it."
Iris looked away, face tinged with sadness. "...But I... what can I... What am I to do... with what I am? ...Time is... too short..."
Valkyre felt a dread fill the pit of his stomach. His voice was uneven, raspy, speaking words he didn't want to say.
"...What... do you mean?"
Iris looked back up at him, and the angel felt his heart ache at the sad, hollow smile, a smile he'd seen before.
"...I'm like him, Valkyre. Like... Corryn." His voice was so small, so weak. So frail, a porcelain doll about to shatter, turning to dust between fingertips, to ashes.
"...I'm falling apart, too."
Valkyre trembled. He shook his head in disbelief.
"No," he muttered, "No. ...How can you?? Why? You're not made in a lab, you"-
Iris silenced him by simply closing his eyes, sighing softly. "I'm not supposed to exist, Valkyre. I'm not. ...And inside of me... I'm being torn apart. ...It hurts... and...
"...Sometime, it will kill me."
Iris. So silent, so quiet.
So small, so weak, so hurt inside.
To be torn apart by yourself, from within. By your own blood. Knowing your own death, knowing eternity of nothingness. Lacking meaning. To die.
No. Iris.

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AN: My god. Another chapter, finally out! I have to say, I'm so immensely sorry about this, but there's been school and work and the usual crapiola, plus a brand-new little addiction called the PS2 and Star Ocean. Eheheheh. ^^;
I have done some daydreaming/brainstorming though, [heh] and the next few chappies are planned out, so as long as I can keep myself going, I should be able to get some more work done. :) I try to refrain from using the PS2 during weekdays, okay?? XD
Really though, my stories... It's not insofar as I don't know what I'm going to do, but simply that I have a series of events, and I just need to 'fluff' it up and link them all together. You can't believe how difficult it can get [or you can] when you get down to the details and all... So many things come up! X3
Ah, you can't believe how sick I myself can get of certain situations my chars end up in, so I apologize, as my writing has not been up to par again as of late... I think I'm really bad with this dialogue and explaining and crap. -__-; I like action scenes somewhat, but it can't always just be movements, so the rest has to be there...
By now, the term 'archangel' is getting quite a bit annoying and sounds weird... ...::sigh::... ...luckily for me, most of the basic facts are out, so there should just mostly be action to pick up to. :)
Once we get to something nice and fresh, and bring in the chars and the plotline, I hope I can get my writing up to something better. :)
Surprisingly, I think we might be near a half-way point or something for Iris~! I mean, I'm looking ahead at how many scenes I still want to write out, and how many have been written out, and, really, 32 chapters are a lot! O_O I'm so surprised at how far I've gotten!
Thanks to everyone for sticking with, I really love to see the comments, to see the people reading this; it's pretty much completely what's keeping me going!
Oh, and never you worry about me quitting writing. :) I've got a little notepad chock-full with my story ideas, as I haven't been able to keep them all in my head. Seriously. :)
So even if/when Iris is finished [it will be a freakin' damned miracle and turning-point in my life, I freakin' SWEAR it...], there will always be more goody [hah!] stories for you all. Mmmhm.
Ah, I'm sorry, I'm rambling again [and for quite a lot, too! O_o]...
Usual thanks all around. See ya next. :)

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