Ties of Blood 6

I am reposting this chapter of a story I did with so I can have the complete version in my gallery.

The original is posted here:

Artwork by:

Written by:

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"Aria... what did you do?"

After the death of her mother and disappearance of her father, Aria went from place to place, trying to survive. One day she was caught and placed before the auction block like cattle on sale at the market. She was sold and brought to a lovely mansion, her new master being a kind and loving man, teaching her how to do her jobs the best way he knew, as well as teaching her to read and write. But it wasn't all smiles, as the man's wife grew jealous of the attention Aria was getting. At first it was the rude comment there and a quick slap on the back of the head here, but as she grew older and more beautiful, the woman's jealousy grew as well, and the torment escalated until finally she took Aria to the basement and whipped her back until she started bleeding. That was the day Aria's patience snapped.

The next morning, Aria poisoned her food and within three days the jealous wife died. The husband knew this wasn't coincidence. He confronted Aria, who was now a lovely young woman of seventeen, with crimson hair and lovely emerald eyes. "Aria... what did you do?"

"She asked for it."

"She was still my wife..."

"Then why didn't you stop her? She beat me and bullied me for 12 years... and you did nothing. You're just as guilty as she is. But you I will forgive if we just move on." Aria smiled a very dark smile then, as if something inside her had been awakened.

"This crime must be punished." The man said, heading for the door. But before he could open it, Aria grabbed the poker from the fireplace and brained the man, killing him instantly.

"Satisfied now?" Aria asked, before tossing the bloody poker down to the ground and leaving. That was the day Aria's heart and soul grew dark...

It wasn't long before the body followed suit...

---

Aria landed on her back, so hard she swore she heard her bones break upon impact. She stared up at the sky, which was once a beautiful blue, now a swirling and inky black. Tears streamed down her face, as she accepted the fact that, at this point, there really wasn't a thing she could do.

"I... failed..." she said sadly, the thousand years of pain and suffering she had been through finally too much for her to bear. All she could do was pray that Xeranad would be defeated by the others. But deep inside, she knew that was a fool's dream... he had grown too powerful... too insane...

Suddenly a laugh emanated behind her, and she twisted her body as best she could to see who it was. Her heart almost stopped upon seeing who it was.

"David..."

"Well, well, well... look at what I found." Concussion said, smiling. "If it isn't the little bitch that ruined my life."

"David... you're alright..."

"More than can be said of you." Concussion laughed, almost relishing the pain she was in. He stared upward, a smile on his face. "He really is quite something, isn't he? I have near infinite power and that man still manages to send a shiver down my spine. He's the most vile, ruthless, and dangerous being to ever exist... I think I'm a little jealous."

"Why..."

"WILL YOU SHUT UP?!" Concussion yelled, kicking the bloody Aria in the side, sending her flying into the wall. Aria fell back onto the ground, where she curled up into a fetal position, partly from the pain, the rest from the sorrow. "YOU are the reason I turned into this. YOU are the reason I've been labeled a criminal. YOU are the reason all of this is happening! You and that evil monster of a father of mine! Did you think, even for a moment, that I forgot about what you did to me?! And now, here, at the end of all things, we face each other, and I intend to make you suffer tenfold for what was done to me..."

All Aria could do was stare back, tears streaming from her eyes.

---

Xeranad cracked his neck, watching everyone stare at him, as if they just witnessed someone stabbing a newborn child in the face... looks of disgust, of horror, of anger. Xeranad smiled, drinking it all in.

"What? Did you actually CARE about her? Someone whom you barely knew?" Xeranad's smile changed into the most unsettling frown. "You all make me sick."

Angelina attempted to fly past him, in an effort to help Aria, but Xeranad snapped his fingers and a chain wrapped itself around the angel, pulling her towards him. "Oh, I don't think so, healer. Even if she is still alive after falling from this height, that hole in her stomach is going to slowly drain her of all her blood. By the time you get to her, she'll already have crossed over..."

Angelina struggled against her bonds, but it was no use. "Pretender..."

"Am I? Or have I just become what I have always been?" Xeranad raised his sword, ready to deliver a swift death blow, when Ryu flew over and rammed into him.

"You've taken one life too many, monster!" Ryu shouted, blasting Xeranad in the face with a blast of flame, getting his attention and allowing Angelina to escape. "GO! Help Aria!"

But before Angelina could even fly a yard, Xeranad's sword pierced into one of wings, where he crashed into the castle tower. "Oh dear... the Guardian's pet mascot seems to have injured himself... and as for you, cherub..." Xeranad slammed his fist into her stomach, knocking her out. He grabbed her wing and tossed her down toward the tower. "I'll finish you off later."

Walkiria couldn't stand much more of this. She flew forward and punched Xeranad in the face, the stomach and kicked him in the side repeatedly. "Why? Why did you kill her? Why are you hurting everyone? What do you hope to gain from this senseless violence?!" Before she could land another blow, one of the floating eyes blasted her with red lightning, shocking her and sending her back a bit, allowing Xeranad a chance to recover.

"You never learn, do you?" Xeranad asked, about to do the crushing portal trick again when SSW slammed him with her knee to his face.

"I will not allow you to continue to harm innocent lives." Olga stated, helping Walkiria surround Xeranad.

Xeranad turned away from her and faced Walkiria again. "You asked me why? If I had to be perfectly honest it's because I derive pleasure from your suffering... it makes me happy. And I'm not near happy enough." Upon saying this, Xeranad fired chains at both Walkiria and SSW, wrapping around their necks and slowly crushing them. "Ahhh... now we're gettin' somewhere."

As he slowly choked Walkiria and SSW, a blast of heat shot into Xer's head, causing him to lose focus and allowed Maia and Olga to escape. "And... now I'm pissed off." Xeranad muttered, more in a bored tone than an angry one.

"It's payback time, jackass!" Ultrawoman shouted, slamming her fist into Xeranad, causing him to cough up blood (though to be honest he was doing it before this), and sending him to the ground, where he left a decent sized crater. "And the great Ultrawoman shows up once again to show you amateurs how it's done."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Walkiria shouted back, angry at Ultrawoman for her nonchalant attitude in this crisis.

"So he's got wings now, it's still the same nutcase I fought once before. This time he isn't going to surprise me again with his little magic. I can handle him myself."

"You just don't like getting shown up, that's all."

Before Ultrawoman could respond, her face suddenly gaped in surprise. Walkiria and SSW turned and saw a flaming airplane being held by the bloody angel. "Alright, let's reenact a favorite moment in history for me... you three are the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, this is the terrorist attack." Xeranad threw the airplane at them, Ultrawoman dodging it while SSW and Walkiria caught it, hoping to stop it from hitting anything. Xeranad frowned. "Ah, no fair, the South Tower moved..."

"The hell is wrong with you?!" Ultrawoman asked.

"What? Too soon?" Xeranad laughed. "You seem confused... is it because you strayed too far from the KITCHEN?!"

"Oh you did NOT just say that!" Ultrawoman was starting to get increasingly angry at Xeranad's insults and jokes.

"Oh, yes I did. Now make yourself useful, love... AND GET ME A CUP OF TEA!!!"

Ultrawoman flew straight at Xeranad and tried to attack him, but Xeranad caught her by the neck and smirked. "Ultimate life form my ass." He muttered, delivering his knee to her stomach and slashing her across the chest, sending her down. "In the end, all your efforts are in vain. I will form a new desert from the ashes of your dead and carve an oasis with your blood. No matter what you try to do to stop me, you will always fail!"

---

Ryu lay on his back, struggling to get up. The dark lord was much more powerful than when they first faced each other, and the gaping wound in his wing and stomach was testament to that. Thankfully his regeneration kept him from death's door. As he slowly recovered, he watched Xeranad practically destroy Ultrawoman, Soviet Superwoman and Walkiria with hardly any effort. Part of him wanted to give up, but he knew he couldn't. He just needed enough strength for one final attack...

But before he could stand, a young woman walked up next to him and smiled. "How about you sit this one out for now? You'll need all the strength you can get."

Ryu blinked and watched her fly into the sky, saw her draw her blade and before Xeranad could react, destroyed all four of his bloody floating eyes with a single stroke of her blade. Xeranad floated back away from her, a look of honest surprise mingled with light irritation on his face. "Oh?" He said, raising an eyebrow. "So an actual divine dragon god decides to interfere? A little late to the party, aren't you?"

The woman stared coldly back at him. "If I were you, I'd surrender. This will only end badly for you."

To her surprise, Xeranad started laughing. "A godling intends to stop the almighty power of Angra Mainyu? I, who have existed long before you were even a thought? I may be possessing this pathetic mortal shell, but I have more than enough power to destroy you and scatter the ashes of your soul to the four winds of hell! Still, I would like to know the name of the one who so boldly stands against me."

"I am Yue Xing'er, the Celestial Dragon. And your darkness doesn't frighten me, fallen one." She raised her sword and attacked, but to her surprise Xeranad blocked it and sent her back.

"Feh. Trying to end the fight immediately, huh? You're no fun. It looks like I'm going to have to stop playing around and actually get serious for this one, though." An orb of darkness appeared hovering over Xeranad's clawed gauntlet and it swelled and swallowed both Xeranad and Xing'er, and the surroundings changed to that of a desolate landscape. Xeranad smiled. "Welcome to the Dark Dimension."

---

While the heroes were preoccupied with the bloody angel, Concussion was taking his time, smacking Aria around like the ragged doll she appeared to be. He kicked her, punched her, and beat her so hard she threw up blood mixed with bile. Until finally, Concussion could feel her hold on her life begin to slip away. Concussion smiled.

"So, is there anything you'd like to say to me before you shuffle off this mortal plane?"

Aria stared up at him, and, to his surprise, she was crying, not from the pain, but from emotional turmoil. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry for everything..."

Concussion blinked. Whatever he was expecting to hear, it wasn't those words. "I'm sorry for destroying your life, I'm sorry everyone thinks of you as a criminal, I'm sorry for bringing this calamity upon Angel Falls, and I'm sorry I'm not strong enough to set things right. I don't blame you for hating me. After all, I'm just a freak that would be better off being killed off and left to rot in the hot sun. I've never really accomplished anything worthwhile... all I've done is cut a few lives short and ruined countless others simply by existing... in the end, you were right, David... I AM a useless little girl."

After Aria said these last words, her body went limp and the luster in her eyes faded... Aria Cadenza Kahner was dead.

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The following characters were used with permission:

owns Aria and Xeranad.

owns David Blake/Concussion.

owns Angelina.

owns Ryu.

owns the Soviet Superwoman.

owns Walkiria.

owns Ultrawoman.

owns Xing'er.

This story takes place in the universe.

Continued: