//------------------------------// // Side Story Ch.2: Irune part 1: The Arena // Story: Possibilities: Angels of Equestria // by Apollo and Artemis //------------------------------// Upon finishing her business, Irune let out a relieved sigh. "I didn't realize I was holding all that in..." She thought as she exited the bathroom. She then realized what she had just done. She left Runa alone. The sudden realization hit her like a ton of bricks. The color drained from her to match the color of the bathroom wall she was currently leaning on, trying to catch her breath. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and make a plan of action. "Okay, Irune. You fucked up. Runa is probably running off, trying to steal something. But that's okay. You're going to find her and stop her! But, the question is how? Hmm...." She put a hoof to her chin as she thought and wandered around. Before she knew it, she had wandered into an alley. She was never good at multitasking. Her distant look was broken when she realized where she was. "I wandered into an alley?" She said out loud. She shrugged and she began looking for a way out while trying to think of a way to stop Runa from stealing anything. She walked through the alleys, her mind distant. This state of mind would soon make her regret her decision. Out of nowhere, a hooded stallion pinned her to the wall with his hoof on her neck, a knife held in his mouth. She managed to let out a gasp as her back hit the wall, but nothing else. "I've been watching you all day. The way you move your flank.... I thought to myself 'Hey, why not make that smoking hot mare mine?'" He said, malice burning in his eyes. Irune simply grinned. Any normal mare would be screaming at this point, but not Irune. She was by no means normal. She began to giggle, sounding much like a little filly who had just been complemented by her crush. "What's so funny?" He asked, clearly confused. "Oh, it's just that I'm flattered that you think I'm hot. But I'm not hot. In fact, I think that I'm a bit cold." As soon as the word 'cold' left her lips, her smile twisted into a horrifying grin and her eyes glowed a chilling blue. The stallion was confused at first, but soon he realized what she meant. She hit the stallion's foreleg at the joint and it buckled, releasing Irune from his grip. Before the stallion could scream, she grabbed him by the mouth and raised him up while she held her head down. She giggled like a madmare as the stallion kicked and tried to pry her hoof off of his mouth, failing miserably. She lifted her face to reveal that ice blue veins were growing on her face, quickly spreading to her body. She let go of him, causing him to fall to the floor. He quickly scrambled away from her until his back was to the wall. He wore an expression of horror as she slowly stalked towards him with an evil glare holding him in place. "W-W-What ARE you!?" He blubbered and Irune put a hoof to his mouth to silence him. "Shhh..... You know, I have a nickname. Would you like to know it?" She whispered, terrifying him even more. "It's Malice, The Icy Reaper. The Frozen Harvester. I wouldn't blame you if you've never heard of me. Not many get to live to tell the tale." She said, her voice smooth and sharp, cutting into his very soul. Before the stallion could fully comprehend what she had just said, she raised her other hoof and quickly jammed it into his chest. The veins quickly disappeared down her hoof and entered the stallion. The veins spread through his body, causing him to cough violently. Irune just smiled a sadistic smile. "You know, I gotta thank you." She said, her tone one of actual gratitude. The stallion hacked and coughed as he was driven to his knees by the pain burning in his throat, which was quickly spreading to the rest of his body. "For doing this, I mean. If it weren't for you..." She said, acting as if she was answering the stallion, who was now on the ground, writhing in pain as his hooves began to turn black. "...I would have never gotten Malice back!" She said with sadistic glee as the stallion's body fell limp and it turned completely black. His eyes were shriveled up and his body went rigid, completely taken over by frostbite. "Frostbite. A nasty thing. Oh well. It's a shame. I guess no one will ever live to tell the tale of the Icy Reaper..." She said as she stomped on the stallion's frozen skull, shattering it into thousands of shards. She moved on and tried to find a way out of the maze that the alleys formed. Soon, she came upon a steel door. It was pained red and it had a slot near the top, presumably to let those inside to see whoever visited. She pushed open the door and the horrible smell of rust and rotten food filled her nostrils. "Ugh.... No one knows how to tidy up these days..." She said as she walked through the dark and dirty metallic room. She coughed as dust flew in her face when she tried to move some debris that was in her way. She shooed the dust away from her face as she noticed light seeping in from underneath a door on the other side of the room. Seeing no other exit, she moved towards the door. It was a heavy metal door that only moved by cranking a winch beside it. She cranked said winch and the door lifted with a metallic screech. She was shocked to see what was beyond the door. A huge arena was now before her, several blood stains, fresh and old, adorned the floors and walls. Stone pillars were all over the area. Some of them were in good condition and others were not. In the walls of the massive arena were four heavy metal doors, including the one Irune just stepped through. A metal dome was above the arena, presumably to keep the audience safe during a fight. She walked slowly to the center of the arena, unsure of how safe this area was. It was eerily silent as she walked and the only sound she could hear were her own footsteps. When she reached the center, a huge voice boomed from somewhere in the arena. "So, you've come." The voice said, unmistakably male. Irune jumped at the sound and the voice laughed. "No need to be afraid, Reaper." The voice said and Irune's eyes widened. "You... You know me?" She asked, disbelief clear in her voice. The voice laughed again. "How could I not when you just killed one of my employees?" He said and Irune grinned slightly. "Who? The pervert? I don't care about him." She said plainly and the voice chuckled. "Yes, I suppose he was a pervert. He would always skip work to spy on mares." He said and Irune chuckled. She knew of an angel who did the same to her while she was in the bath. Let's just say that he didn't walk out of that room with an intact set of balls. "So... Would you happen to know a way out of here? I need to get back to my friends." She said and the voice replied with honesty. "Yes, I do know a way out. But, to get out, you have to do something for me first." He said and Irune was intrigued. "And what might that be?" She said and several doors in the audience area opened and hundreds of ponies filed in, cheering and screaming. (I thought that this song would be appropriate for most of the following scenes) "I want you to entertain my guests." The voice said as the ponies all settled down and the voice spoke with an even louder tone. "Now, fillies and gentlecolts, it seems we have a new challenger! She may not look like much, but I promise you! She's got a nasty surprise for anypony who would want to hurt her. In this corner we have, The Icy Reaper!" His voice roared out and the crowd went wild. Irune let a smile creep onto her face. It's been a long time since she got to release the darker side of her. "And in this corner we have an old favorite! He is nine feet tall and he doesn't like new competitors! He's got a hammer big enough to knock an Ursa Major out cold with one swing! He is Steel Horn!" The voice said and one of the massive doors lifted to reveal a hulking behemoth of a minotaur standing at the doorway, saliva dripping from its mouth as it grunted at Irune. Its eyes glowed with hatred as it hefted the massive hammer that was previously mentioned. It let out a bloodcurdling howl as it rested the hammer on its shoulder. Irune grinned as she approached the beast. "Now THIS is my kind of entertainment!" She shouted as the behemoth charged, hammer raised and ready to smash Irune into the ground. She flapped her wings and they took her out of harm's way, the hammer harmlessly crushing the ground where she originally was. She jumped on the hammer and ran along its length, to its wielder. She charged her hoof with magic and slammed it into the minotaur's hand, causing it to let go with a roar. She used this chance to prepare her next attack. She clasped her hooves together and separated them, a spear of ice forming between them. She quickly grabbed it and threw it at the minotaur, who was still trying to get rid of the pain in its hand. The javelin pierced its hand and nailed it to the wall, causing it to howl again in pain. Irune gave it no time to try to pull out the spear. She conjured up another spear and threw it at the other hand, nailing it to the wall and causing it to cry out once more. She moved to the massive hammer and hefted it onto her shoulder. "Looks like you're about to get a taste of your own medicine." She said as magic coursed through her entire body, readying her for the strike. She roared in bloodlust as she swung the hammer horizontally, the head slamming directly into the side of the beast. The force of the strike tore the beast off of the wall, leaving the severed arms nailed to the wall. It was about to roar in fury and pain, when Irune followed up with her attack. She used the momentum of the strike to fly into the air, carrying the hammer with her. Her eyes glinted a chilling blue as she swung the hammer down on the minotaur's head. The hammer impacted with the beast's skull. Now, minotaur skulls were pretty hard. They could usually take the blunt force of a pegasus going 140 mph without so much as jerking backwards. But it is very doubtful that a minotaur could take the force of a three-ton hammer descending upon their head at 60 miles per hour. The hammer crushed the skull, sending small chunks of bone and brain matter flying everywhere. She panted quietly, her body coated with brain matter and viscera as the arena was filled with silence. The ponies exchanged shocked glances and soon, one of them shouted out. "GO, REAPER!!" A stallion shouted from the crowd, breaking the silence. The crowd stayed silent for a minute, but then they followed with a chant. "REAPER, REAPER, REAPER, REAPER!!" They chanted and Irune smiled her malicious smile. "They seem to love me!" She said and the voice answered, although it was hard to hear through the cheering of the crowd. "Of course they do! You just killed a minotaur that was more than three times as big as you!" He said as he lit up a string of red lights at the top of the arena, signaling the audience to be silent. "Alright! Our little lady seems to be able to hold her own! How about we put her up against something a bit more challenging?" He said and the crowd cheered on. He then gave the crowd what they wanted. A challenge for Irune. "Originally an orphan, he fought to where he is now. Wielding two wristblades and and a whole plethora of weapons, he cuts down any who dare to challenge him! Meet Hunter Magnum!" He said and another door lifted to reveal an armored pony. It wore chain mail armor over most of its body and metallic leg and waist armor. It wore gauntlets on its forelegs and a heavy mask, which garbled its speech slightly. "I... Am.... The night!" He said, his voice coming through what sounded like voice filters in the mask. Irune cracked her neck and beat her hooves together. "Yeah, sure you are." She said with a sarcastic tone as she charged at her enemy. But before she could plant her hoof in his face, he suddenly disappeared. A shocked expression flashed on her face for a minute, until the momentum of her strike caused her to stumble and fall. She rolled and she lay on her back, trying to make sense of what happened. It only took her seconds to rule out all other possibilities and come up with a straight answer. "That bastard's got a cloaking module!" She thought as said bastard appeared above her with both wristblades drawn and ready to kill. Irune had to react fast. Adrenaline rushed through her body, slowing the world around her to a standstill. She calculated all her options. She could roll to the side and begin attacking him from there, but there was a possibility that he already knew of her plan. There was currently nothing around her, so she couldn't throw anything at him. Now she was only left with one option: kick him out of the air. She only had one shot at this. If she missed even by an inch, it could cost her a limb. "Here goes nothing!" She thought as she supported her body on her forelegs and she aimed her hind legs at the enemy. She quickly pushed herself off of the ground, propelling herself towards her enemy. Her hind legs connected with the stallion's midsection and a sickening crack echoed through the arena. The stallion roared out in pain as he was thrown back, the crowd making an 'ooooohhh' sound in reaction to the loud crack. "That looked and sounded like it hurt!" The announcer said with gusto as the crowd began to cheer again. Irune landed with the grace of a ballerina as she surveyed the arena for any sign of her opponent. She conjured a spear of ice as she heard a loud roar echo through the arena. She heard a sound coming from her right, causing her to quickly throw her ice spear at it. It was nothing though. A simple sound decoy by Magnum. "This fucker's toying with me!" She thought angrily as she prepared a taunt to get her opponent to come out. "Come on out, you little shit! Come and fight me like a ma- er, stallion!" She taunted as she heard a faint whirring noise coming from behind her. She let her instincts take over and she rolled to the side, barely managing to dodge the spear that was thrown at her. She grunted as she looked over the arena once more, this time with an ability that all angels had. Magic sonar. This ability came from the fact that during the War for Creation, it was a very big issue when angels started going missing in the field. So, they developed a low-level spell that could be used to easily locate sources of magic. This method involved Irune sending out a weak magic pulse that bounced off of magic sources. The spell could be fine-tuned to be able to find a specific person or object. And since ponies are an inherently magical race, it would be easy to get a lock on her enemy. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply as she sent out a weak pulse of energy, quickly getting a response. A single magic source got her attention in the arena. Magnum was hiding behind a pillar, mending his bones with some sort of syringe filled with a blue liquid. She grinned as she gathered energy in her hooves. "Time to make this place my battlefield!" She said as she thrust her hooves into the ground, releasing the energy into the ground. The energy caused gigantic spikes of ice to shoot out of the floor, effectively turning the arena into a miniature tundra. Magnum grunted as he barely managed to dodge a spike that appeared underneath him. "What sort of magic is this!?" He thought as he recovered from the shock and he saw what Irune was doing. She calmly walked to an ice pillar and faced him. "I've been playing by your rules for a while, but now the tables have turned. Now, you play by my rules." She said as she thrust her hoof into the ice pillar, shattering it into thousands upon thousands of ice needles. Before they all fell to the floor, she levitated them up and pointed them all at Magnum, whose eyes were wide with fear. Although, nopony could see his face, seeing as he was wearing a mask. Irune could only utter a single word that conveyed her sadistic glee. "Run." She said as she fired the needles in rapid succession at Magnum. He didn't hesitate to do what he was told. He quickly ran, but the ice caused him to slip and fall. Luckily, he slid towards an ice pillar, which shielded him from the onslaught of icy death. "This battle is not turning out in my favor!" Magnum thought as he took shelter behind an ice pillar. "No, it isn't." Irune suddenly said, catching him off guard. She didn't actually know that Magnum thought that the battle wasn't going very well, but she guessed. This sudden claim scared Magnum a little. He prepared to cloak and jump out of her line of fire, but something he never expected happened. The needles stopped flying towards him and Irune was standing normally. Magnum did not lower his guard, which was a good idea. Irune suddenly stood on her hind legs and held her forelegs out, then the arena began to shake. She suddenly threw her hooves forward, the ice in front of her shaking violently. The ice suddenly shattered and the shards levitated around her in a hurricane of ice. She did the same with the rest of the ice around her, the hurricane growing in size each time. Magnum was careful to stay cloaked and out of reach of the hurricane. Suddenly, when it was at its largest, the hurricane stopped moving for a minute. Irune soon spoke. "Magnum, do you have a wife?" She asked, catching the stallion off guard. He was a bit slow to respond, but he did. "Why should I...... Tell you.... Anything?" He said, his voice still garbled by the mask. Irune rolled her eyes, the giant, frozen hurricane of ice still floating around her. "Oh, come on. It was just a question. No need to be rude." She said and Magnum conceded. ".....Yes.... I have..... A wife..." He said and Irune smiled as she asked her next question. "Do you enjoy the warm moments you share with her?" She asked and Magnum nodded slowly, disturbed by this entire situation. This did not make sense. One moment, she was trying to kill him with a barrage of icy needles, and the next she is asking him about his wife? Something was definitely wrong. Irune grinned as she spoke. "Good. That's very good..." She said as the shards converged on her right hoof, forming a ball of chilling energy. She quickly dashed at her confused opponent and grabbed him by the neck. ".....haah......agh.." Magnum coughed as he tried to pry the mare's hoof off, to no avail. She was much stronger than she looked. She slammed him into the ground, causing him to gasp in shock and pain. She sat on his chest and tore the mask off, revealing his face. He was a beige stallion with a short, brown mane and dark eyes, which were filled with fear and pain. She stared into his eyes with her own eyes that glowed a frigid blue. They held no mercy, no remorse. They dug into his soul like knives, telling him that there was no hope left for him. That he was going to die here, with all the regrets he had been saving up. He wanted to live, but Irune didn't want him to. He wanted to beg, to plead for a second chance. A chance to get rid of all his regrets. But, it was not to be. He would never see his wife and child again. He would never be able to take his son out fishing. He would never be able to hunt down and kill a Manticore, his lifelong dream. All of his dreams and aspirations, gone in one moment. For the first time in his life, he was drowning in despair. He was going to die and he couldn't do anything about it. "...Because those warm memories are about to get very cold." She said as she pried his mouth open and shoved the ball of energy down his throat. The Absolute Zero spell took immediate effect. The cold quickly spread, freezing the stallion's body. She tore open his chest cavity, the ribs making a sick cracking noise, which drove some of the members of the audience to make various retching noises. She reached into the dead stallion's chest and pulled out a glowing ball of faint blue energy. "Your soul..... Very pure, considering what you've been doing. Leo will want to have this." She said as she swallowed the soul whole, causing the audience to show their disgust by looking away and saying things like, 'nononononono!', 'What did that mare just do!?', 'What the buck!?' and among others. She stood and the announcer moved onto his comments. "Well..... That was.... Disturbing.... Anywho! It seems that our newbie can certainly pull her own weight! Am I right!?" The announcer said and the audience responded with gusto, eager to forget the most recent event. Just at that moment, the lights in the arena dimmed a little as the announcer introduced Irune's next opponent. "The dark is her ally in this fight! With a scythe in her hooves, she stalks the shadows, waiting for her prey to make a mistake. Introducing our new competitor, Shaku!" He said as a shadowy haze enveloped the arena. It thinned slightly and at the center stood a mare with dark eyes and a face mask. Her fur was a bluish-gray and her mane and tail was black. Most of her body was encompassed by copper armor, which allowed her to move very quickly. On her back was a single scythe with a wickedly curved blade. "I've heard of you, Reaper." She said, venom coating her words. Irune didn't even look in her direction. "And? Many have heard, not many get to say anything about it." Irune said as she nonchalantly polished her hooves against her chest. Shaku gritted her teeth. "Yeah? Well, I'll be one of the few, then. There's only room for one reaper, and that's me!" She said as she disappeared and Irune finally took actual notice. "Another cloaker? Fine." She said as she activated her magic pulse. She got a lot of responses. In fact, the entire arena was lit up with responses. "Strange.... The fog must be sending me false responses.... Clever girl..." She thought as she resorted to the thing that got her through thick and thin during the Battle of Haven: Her senses. She focused her magic into her ears and closed her eyes. With her ears' hearing strength enhanced by magic, she could hear an ant fart all the way over in Griffonia, which she did. Along with a whole lot of other sounds. Nearly driven to her knees by the audio assault, she tuned her ears into being able to hear only until the edges of the arena. She listened quietly for a few seconds, staying still so she wouldn't hear her own movements. For a few moments, everything was completely quiet. If she didn't know that she was currently in a fight, she would have just sat there and taken a nap. But then she heard something. The sound of sand shifting from the edge of the arena. She quickly conjured an ice spear and threw it at the sound, only hearing the spear get embedded in the rock wall. She soon heard rapid footsteps coming from her left. She jumped out of the way, the blade of the incoming scythe only managing to cut the edge of her uniform. She heard the sound of retreating footsteps next. "No good..... She's moving too fast.... Time for another approach." She thought as she spread her wings to their full length, which was at least 5 1/2 feet. She quickly flew into the air above the fog and she deactivated her hyper-hearing. She closed the arena with clear ice to allow the audience to be able to see the incoming carnage. She landed on the ground at the center of the arena and encased herself in a dome of ice. She needed to concentrate for this spell. She sat at the center of the small igloo and closed her eyes. She then began drawing runes on the floor of the arena with ice. "Fenrir.... I am Sariel..... Heed my call..... In exchange for your power, I offer you..... The blood of my enemies....." She said, her tone echoing throughout the dome. All Sariels had a very deep connection with Fenrir. This is due to the fact that Fenrir's son, Hati, a Managarm, is something called a Moon Hound. Managarms are at their strongest under the light of the full moon or when they are in the vicinity of a Sariel. The runes underneath her began to glow an icy blue and Irune got her response. "Sariel, your offer has been accepted. Your enemies will fall like dominoes." A deep voice said and the runes grew ever brighter. Irune smiled. If Fenrir was planning on coming here himself, she couldn't guarantee the safety of everyone in the arena, but that didn't matter to her. All that mattered was the fight. And she was going to win. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shaku snickered as she disappeared from the battlefield. She was going to win this fight. The dark was her ally, and with the arena completely enveloped in dark fog, how was she to lose? She quickly ran up to Irune while drawing her scythe, who was standing still, likely because she was listening for Shaku. "She thinks she's so good..... Well, I'll prove her wrong." She thought as she swung her scythe at the peak of her approach. But Irune jumped out of the way, only getting her cape caught by the blade. "Okay, maybe she is good. But I'm better!" She thought as she retreated to observe Irune. If she was as ready as she had just been, she couldn't just hit her and hope for the best. She needed a plan. But before she could formulate one, Irune suddenly spread her wings and flew up to the roof of the arena. Shaku saw that she was covering the roof in clear ice and her face contorted into a curious stare. "What is that mare doing?" She thought as said mare flew back to the ground and covered herself with a dome of ice. Shaku was growing very suspicious, but suspicion quickly changed into shock when light seeped out from the dome and ground began to shake. "What in Equestria is that mare doing!?" She asked herself, this time with more horror than curiosity. She got her answer in only a few seconds. The dome shattered into thousands of shards and in its place stood two figures. One equine and one lupine. She stared on with caution as the figures became clearer. Irune was standing beside a strange wolf. It had grayish-blue fur and ice spikes protruding from various points on its body, most notably its back and tail. Its fangs and claws were like daggers and its eyes were as white as the full moon, but its most defining feature was the horn atop its head. It was shaped like a Spartan blade and it chilled the air around it. "A Managarm? Well, I suppose it is more fitting." Irune said as she ran her hoof through its cold fur. It responded by nuzzling her. She returned the affection before getting serious. "Yosamu, find my enemy." She said and the wolf jerked away from her. It sniffed the air before howling loudly, the sheer volume of the howl cracking the ice above them. The volume also caused the audience and Shaku to clutch their heads in pain. "Argh.... What is that creature?" She said as the howl began to subside and in its place came a very sadistic laughter. "Shaku? You're there, aren't you? Really, I must thank you." Irune said as her laughter died down and a cold wind blew over the arena, blowing the fog away. This was a rather strange phenomenon, considering that there was no way wind could enter the arena. Shaku growled as she drew her scythe. With her one advantage gone, she would have to fight. "Why's that?" She asked through gritted teeth. "Simply because you reminded me to do my Sariel Ritual!" Irune said as she stroked the Managarm's back. Shaku was confused and she wanted to ask a question. Now, most people wouldn't ask questions during a fight, but since Irune wasn't exactly a normal fighter, Shaku decided to risk it. "Sariel Ritual?" She said, still trying to get the ringing out of her head. "I won't bother explaining what a Sariel Ritual is to you, since you'll be long dead before I can even finish." Irune said and she turned to Yosamu. "Let me handle this." She said and the ice wolf phased through the ground, away from the battle. Irune then turned to Shaku with sadistic glee in her eyes. "Let's play, Shaku." She said as daggers of ice appeared in her hooves. If you would like to see the closest thing to Irune's expression, look at this. Before Shaku could raise her scythe to defend herself, Irune landed her hind leg on Shaku's shoulder with a heavy blow, causing the mare to slam into the ground. The force of the strike caused her to bounce up and backwards, away from Irune. As Shaku crashed to the ground, Irune juggled her daggers. "You had enough yet?" Irune said, not taking her eyes away from her juggling. Shaku slowly rose, but she could feel the damage of the strike. Several of the bones in her upper body had been broken and her right foreleg had been dislocated. She coughed blood as she took a blue syringe from her belt. "Hardly." She spat as she bit the cover of the syringe off and plunged it into her side, causing her to scream in pain. Although it was painful, the liquid in the syringe was doing its job. It released millions of nanomachines that spread throughout her body, healing the damage that had been done. Bones rejoined and the foreleg reconnected, stronger than ever. Irune took her eyes away from her juggling and noticed Shaku recovering. "Let me guess. Nanomachines, right?" She chuckled as she spawned more ice daggers, which joined their predecessors. Shaku grinned as she picked up her scythe and pointed it at Irune, who was still juggling and spawning daggers. "Correct." Shaku said as she charged at Irune, who also grinned. She threw the growing number of daggers in all directions, setting up her plan of attack. Just as the daggers set themselves in place, Shaku swung her scythe at Irune, who flipped out of the way. Before she hit the ground, she spotted two daggers falling near her. She grabbed them and she landed her hind legs on the dirt but instead of stabilizing herself, she used the force to rebound onto the wall behind her. She locked her eyes onto Shaku, who was about to close the distance between them. She braced her legs and readied her wings for a moment and she released. She flew towards Shaku at lightning speeds, the mare in question managing to raise the blade of her scythe to defend against Irune. The two met in a shower of ice shards for a moment, but that moment quickly passed as Irune flew past Shaku. Shaku recoiled from the force of the attack, causing her to spin around. This allowed her to see Irune launch herself into the wall and up to the ceiling of the arena. She also noticed that after Irune reached the ceiling, she managed to grab two ice swords and begin her deadly descent on Shaku. Irune fell down to Shaku at high speed, blades primed to strike. She swung both of the blades in an X formation, two arcs of ice left in their wake. Shaku managed to dodge the attack, but her scythe was knocked out of her hooves. Irune stood on her hind legs as the ice blades fell to the ground, embedding themselves and creating the appearance of a field of swords. Irune turned her back to Shaku as she reached for the ice blade. "Shaku, you're a good girl, so I'll- Ack!" She said, but she stopped when she felt a sharp pain in her side. She looked down to see a dagger's hilt sticking out of her side. Shaku had rushed up and stabbed her while she was talking. She fell down to her knees and Shaku laughed. "Who's the reaper now?" Shaku taunted as she reached for her scythe. The announcer then spoke up. "It looks like The Icy Reaper is finally down for the count! I guess she just got too cocky! Shaku will advance to the next round!" The announcer said and Irune fell over, her world suddenly darkening. She saw blood pooling around her. Her blood. She tried to keep her eyes open, but eventually she ran out of strength. Her eyes finally shut. She was dead. Yosamu simply observed the battle through the ground. He hadn't known his master long, but he knew her enough to know that she wouldn't die so easily. She would definitely come back, he thought to himself. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One year ago.... "Anzu, are you sure this is safe?" Irune asked as the two angels entered the Soul Weapon Forge. The inside was massive. The walls and floor were made of some sort of metal and glass tanks lined the walls. At the back of the building, a forge sat with a man tending to it. "Listen, hundreds have done it before you, so it's fine. Hephaestus! Over here!" Anzu said as she waved the man over. The man turned around and jumped from the forge and in front of the two, startling Irune. He was a relatively thin man for someone who worked a forge, but his equipment spoke for him. He kept his dark hair swept back with a do-rag and he wore a jacket around his waist. He wore a light shirt and large, heat resistant gloves. "Anzu! It's been so long! How have you been doing?" He said in a gruff voice as he hugged Anzu. "I'm doing great, Hephaestus. Say, do you remember the time I fought off that Basilisk?" Anzu asked and Hephaestus rubbed the back of his neck with a smile on his face. "Yeah. I reckon I'd be dead if it weren't for you. Alright, I know that you wouldn't bring that up if you had no reason. What do you need?" He said as he guided the pair of angels to his forge. "Oh, nothing for me. But, you can do something for her." Anzu said with a smile as she jerked her thumb over to Irune who snapped to attention after staring at the machinery. "So, what can Hephaestus do for you, little lady?" He said as he cracked his knuckles. "Um.... Anzu said you could help keep me alive and get me a new weapon." She said and Hephaestus laughed. "Is that all? Well, I guess we should get started then!" He said as he flipped a switch on the forge. Suddenly, the walls opened to reveal multiple metal arms that were fitted with plasma saws, stabilizers and plasma torches just to mention a few. Various parts of the forge lifted to reveal several ports that held different types of metal. The center of the forge drained and six ports opened up at the sides of the forge. A control board rose up and Hephaestus leaned on it. "My first question: Heavy, medium or light?" He asked and Irune rubbed her chin. "Heavy, I guess." She said and the ports on the outer edge of the forge closed and reopened quickly, this time with different metals. "Next, very heavy or heavy?" Irune was quick to come up with an answer. "Very heavy." She said and and a stabilizer arm brought up a shaft from one of the ports. "Blunt or sharp?" Irune answered quickly. "Sharp." She said and an axe head was attached to the shaft via a plasma torch. The head had a beard and the top curved upward, making it look much like an executioner's axe. A pressurized spray coated the whole axe in a substance, that when hardened, would make the weapon extremely durable. The axe lowered and it was deposited through a vent. The axe slid out onto a tray and Irune picked it up. It had a nice feel. The shaft was rough, so she could easily keep her grip when she was decapitating her foes. "You wanna test that out?" Hephaestus said and Irune nodded excitedly. Hephaestus laughed as he brought up a massive piece of Thorn Dragon hide. "Go on. Hit it!" He said and Irune complied. She swung the axe into the hide and it was cut into two instantly. She whistled lowly as she looked at her new axe. "You did good, Hephaestus!" She said and said forgemaster bowed. "Yeah, but my job ain't done yet. Next, we'll have to bind that thing to you." He said and Irune gave a confused look. "Bind?" She asked. "You don't know what Weapon Binding is? Well, I guess I can't blame you. Not many can get their weapons bound to them." He said and Irune voiced her question. "What's Weapon Binding?" She asked. "Well, you know how the Seraph can just summon a blade from out of nowhere? Yeah, he had a sword bound to him. Weapon Binding binds the weapon to your soul so you can have it anytime. But usually, you have to be pretty powerful to be able to bind a weapon to your soul. Since it adds something to your soul, you have to be able to carry the extra weight on your soul. Usually, those with the more powerful souls can bind a sword or a war axe to themselves. But, only the really powerful ones can bind more powerful and heavier weapons." He explained and Irune nodded. "Do you think you're strong enough?" He asked and Irune nodded. She wouldn't have become an Angel of Death if she thought otherwise. "Alright then. Beginning Soul Bind procedure." He said as he ran his fingers across the control board, several cords of light latching onto the axe. The cords quickly wrapped around the axe and they shot towards Irune, knocking her back. The cords lifted her up and she gasped. Or at least, she tried to gasp. The cords had already wrapped around her neck. I'm not suffocating? She thought to herself as the axe moved closer to her body. Soon, the axe phased through her and it merged with her. The cords disappeared and she fell to her knees. Anzu rushed to her friend's side. "Irune! Are you alright?" She asked as she took her by the shoulders. Irune shook her head and looked at Anzu. "I'm fine." She said as she stood. She then felt the weight of the axe on her soul. The axe weighed her down and she felt her body grow thrice as heavy. Soon, the weight became too much to bear and her legs buckled again. Hephaestus held her arm to keep her from falling. "Take it easy now. It takes a while for you to get used to extra weight on your soul." He said as he pulled up a chair for her to sit on. She fell onto the chair with an unceremonious 'thump' and she massaged her temples as she sighed. "I knew it wouldn't be easy to take the weight, but I didn't think it would be this hard!" She said through gritted teeth as the jackhammer-like headache began to settle down into a more manageable throbbing headache. "Yeah. I get a lot of complaints like that. Now, while your headache is settling down, I think I should tell you about the way to keep you alive." he said, although Irune was simply in too much pain to listen. "Uh huh. Yeah, sure." She said with a dismissive wave of her hand. Hephaestus stared at the suffering angel quizzically before shrugging and moving on to explain. "Alright then. The way I can get you to survive is for you to eat souls." He said as he pulled a pair of light gauntlets from the wall. "I've been working on these for a while now. They allow you to eat souls and use them to either keep you alive or bring you back from the dead. If you're skilled enough, you can use them to power some really strong attacks." He said and Irune groaned in response. Hephaestus was unfazed and he continued explaining. "It's got a fail-safe feature, where if you somehow grab your own soul, it won't be consumed." He said as he attached the gauntlets to Irune's arms. He then looked at Irune's face. She was fast asleep. He sighed as Anzu picked the sleeping angel up and headed for the door. "I'll take her to her room. Thanks, Hephaestus." She said as she flew off. The forgemaster smiled as he watched her fly off. "Anytime, Anzu." He said as he returned to his work. The forge wouldn't run itself. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Irune's eyes shot open and she tuned her ears to listen for her enemy. Hephaestus' equipment really worked. She would have to thank him properly the next time she saw him. She could hear Shaku's hoofsteps at the edge of the arena. She smiled. She still had time to lop her head off. She rose to her knees as she gripped the knife at her side, prompting the crowd to gasp. She smiled again as she quickly removed the knife and she held her right hoof out as she rose to her hind legs. A massive battleaxe materialized in her hoof as she tossed the knife behind her. Her psychotic smile stretched across her face as her blood ran through her coat. "Ready or not, Shaku. Here I come!" She thought as she charged at her enemy with cold hatred and pleasure in her eyes. Shaku, on the other hand, was busy soaking in her praise. She waved her hoof at the crowd, which was now staring in awe at what was behind her. She put on a confused look as she turned around, but she soon came to regret that. Irune swung the axe upwards, chopping Shaku's left foreleg off. Before Shaku could scream in agony and surprise, Irune shifted her grip on the axe in a way that she was holding it like a javelin. She threw the axe in a spear-like fashion, Shaku being hit and sent flying into the wall. Shaku was stuck to the wall, the axe holding her in place. Shaku coughed blood as she tried to remove the axe with her hoof, only for it to be snapped off by Irune's crushing grip. She tried to scream, but the blood had risen in her throat and she was unable to speak. "What's wrong, Shaku? Cat got your tongue? Oh, wait...." She said as she jammed her hoof in Shaku's bloody mouth, breaking her teeth. She grabbed her tongue and forcefully yanked it out. The tongue trailed blood as it fell to the ground and Shaku hacked and coughed. "I got your tongue!" She said as she removed the axe and Shaku fell to the floor, barely alive. Her breath was almost nonexistent and her blood pressure was dropping like a stone in water. Her brain came to the conclusion that she was going to die. 'Well, I had a good run, at least." She thought as she forced her eyes upwards to see Irune raising the axe above her head with a dark expression on her face. "I die with no regrets.... Just like I always wanted..." She thought with a mental smile. Irune grinned. "No one fucks with the Reaper." She said as she brought the axe down on Shaku with the force of train. The axe ran right through Shaku and into the ground, embedding it in the surface. Shaku's body was split in half as Irune turned to face the shocked crowd, her manic grin ever present. The crowd stayed silent for a moment, shocked by the recent turn of events. Irune rose an eyebrow and she raised her voice. "What's wrong? Are you not entertained?" She shouted out to the audience and they all looked at each other, unsure of how to respond. Soon, they broke the silence and a thundering applause filled the arena. This is when the announcer spoke up. "Fillies and gentlecolts, the Icy Reaper is back!" He shouted out as the audience cheered. Irune smiled. She had not disappointed her screaming fans. Soon, the announcer silenced the crowd with the next challenger. "He comes from the depths of Ithavoss Sanctuary. He's got enough energy in that brain of his to give even the Princess a bad time! He is Archon Plegoras!" He said as a swirling mass of energy enveloped a part of the arena. Soon the energy dissipated and a pony wearing gold armor and white eyes floated up, electricity arcing from his hooves to the ground. "I will vanquish all who stand in my way!" Plegoras said, his voice like the boom of thunder. Irune readied her ice blades as she cautiously approached her new opponent. Her last one nearly killed her, so she needed to be careful with this one. "Come on. Show me what ya got!" She said as she zigzagged towards her enemy with ice blades in her hooves. As she reached him, she raised her blades and swung them into him. But her eyes widened when she saw that the blades shattered as they made contact with a shield of energy. She then noticed him charging energy into his hoof. He let loose a blast of kinetic energy that sent Irune flying. "You cannot defeat me through force alone." He said as Irune landed with a solid thud. She quickly rose and wiped a small collection of blood away from her mouth. "That's kinda obvious, dickwad!" She cursed as she moved for her axe. She hefted the massive weapon onto her shoulders and stared at Plegoras. "But with this, I don't think that's true anymore." She said as she ran forward, Plegoras meeting her attack with maelstroms of magic. The magical currents lashed at Irune as she approached him, but she didn't relent. She was intent on killing him. She erected a barrier to protect herself from the whirling vortex of magic as she charged forward, the axe being dragged along on the ground. As she neared the archon, she overcharged the barrier, causing it to explode and stop all magical activity in the area. She used this brief break to launch herself into the air, positioning herself for an overhead strike. She then swung the weapon into the archon. Plegoras barely had time to react. He raised a barrier to block the strike, but it was too powerful. The massive force, accompanied with the reinforced edge of the axe, shattered the shield instantly. He managed to move back just in time to escape the bloodthirsty edge of the battleaxe. Irune left the battleaxe to be embedded in the ground as she moved to continue her assault. She charged her hoof with kinetic energy as she attacked Plegoras. She unleashed a barrage of savage strikes at Plegoras, who managed to block each strike with a barrier. "You are strong." He said as he grit his teeth. The strikes were whittling down his magic reserves. He would have to end the fight quickly. "ENOUGH!!!" He roared as he let out a massive burst of kinetic energy that knocked Irune to the other side of the arena. She tried to grab her axe as she flew past to stop herself, but the axe came loose and flew with her. "I didn't want to have to resort to this so soon, but you are powerful. More powerful than I ever expected." He said as his eyes glowed white and the lightning surrounding him became more intense. Irune got up and raised her axe to be ready for the incoming attack. And it was going to be a big one. "As an Archon of Light, I have access to the summoning of creatures from other worlds." He said as a green jewel appeared in front of him and he closed his eyes as he channeled energy into the jewel. "Under the guidance of my master, Aralan, I call upon the guardian of the wind, Anemos!" He said and a monster came from the jewel. Its body was made of what seemed like dark, blade-like metal shards that had yellow markings on them. It had a flowing mane and tail. Its head didn't have teeth, but the jaw itself seemed to form the teeth. This sudden summoning shocked Irune. "Anemos.... The guardian of the wind.... I hear you.... crying?" She said as the beast roared. This answer didn't surprise her. "I see.... As you wish, noble guardian." She said as she summoned Yosamu with a wave of her hoof. The wolf climbed out of the floor with ice trailing him. She knelt by him and whispered into his ear. "I need you to stall Anemos while I kill Plegoras. Don't kill Anemos. We all need him alive." She whispered and Yosamu gave his telepathic response. "It shall be as you say, Master." He said as he charged at Anemos, teeth and claws bared to strike. Anemos blew a heavy wind at him, knocking him away. Irune turned to Plegoras, who still had another trick up his sleeve. "I still have to strength to kill you, Reaper." He said and Irune laughed. "You forget yourself, archon. I'M the one who will kill you." She said as she lifted her axe, ready to fight. Plegoras erected a barrier as he chanted ancient and forbidden words. To everyone in the audience, it sounded like gibberish. Just random mutterings of an insane pony. But to angels, they were the words to some of the most powerful spells out there. Irune's eyes widened as Plegoras grew feathered wings. When the wings grew to their full length of 2 meters, he spoke, but not with the voice he used earlier. "Irune, is that you? You've changed! Hahaha!" He said, his voice now slow, deep and deliberate. Irune nearly dropped her axe in shock, but then she gripped it in absolute anger. "I'd recognize that voice anywhere." She thought with hatred in her eyes. "Tell me, where is that Leonhardt boy? I'd like to meet him again!" He said as a sword of light appeared in his hoof. There was no mistaking his voice. His speech pattern was correct as well. And his hatred for Leo confirmed it for Irune. "Father..."