"Lina...please..." Zelgadis Shiro begged with tears in his eyes.
"Who is Lina?" The red-head leaned forward on Zel's chest, gracing his cheek with her fingertips. "I am your Other, Kamui."
"Stop it!" Zel jerked away and stepped back. "I'm not the Kamui! I don't have to make the decision to save or destroy this world!"
Lina only stood there, watching with glazed eyes. "But you are the Kamui. And I am your twin: the Other Kamui." Lina's blood red eyes took on a devious tint. "And you have chosen to be Dragon of Heaven, which leaves me with becoming only a Dragon of Earth, humanity's destroyer and...your opponent!" To prove her point, the Sacred Sword materialized in her palm. She lunged forward at Zel, neverminding the recklessness of her swipes. Soon, she drove Zel to the air, where they continued their battle.
Zel dodged each ruthless swing, agast at the hungry look in his old friend's eyes. Said eyes, he realized were all wrong. They didn't belong to Lina Monou. It was the Other Kamui. But still... "I don't want to fight you, Lina!" He hoped a cloud of psychic energy would distract her.
The Sacred Sword came crashing down towards Zel's back. He turned quickly, forcing her away with a blast. Lina, taking it as a challenge, shot at him as well. The shower of attacks managed to graze Zel's arm. He clutched it painfully, as the Other Kamui floated across from him, watching with anticipation.
Zel looked up to those other-worldly, malicious, red eyes again.
And I promise to protect you! 'K? Lina's voice echoed from a memory. But that was 6 years ago. Six years before he knew he would decide the fate of the world, and Lina would be standing across from him, with every intention to destroy it. Starting with him.
Slowly, Zel alighted atop Tokyo Tower below. The Other Kamui followed, biding her time, with sword still in hand. Zelgadis stood, and almost mechanichally outstretched his hand to summon his own Sacred Sword. Lina... Sparkling memories of the past, and games played as children ran past Zel's mind, as the Other Kamui charged to engage him in battle.
Steel against steel, fortified by unparalleled psychic power, told only in prophecy. The duel circled the entire tower. Lina unrelenting, and Zelgadis still reluctant to fight. The constant dodging and near-misses gratted on the Other Kamui's nerves. She screamed and rushed forward, never noticing Zel's sudden, quick jab.
Lina dropped her sword.
Around the tower, the spirit of a red dragon began to fade, as did its threat to Tokyo. A green dragon spirit chased away the destructive force, back to the center of the planet they fought over.
Zel kneeled down, holding her. "Lina?..."
"Hmmm..." Her eyes opened up shakily towards him; no longer glazed over by the spirit of the Dragon of Earth, and the persona of the Other Kamui. "Zel... I broke our promise didn't I?"
Zel choked on tears.
"Things...didn't turn out...the way we thought."
"Lina - !" Zelgadis Shiro held her tightly, letting the sobs overtake him.
And she closed her eyes.