Challenge# 14: Death Scene

[| Midnight Sun |]

Hello [#username],

Your challenge is to dig into your deeper dramatic emo self and give us a post with a muses' death. Was it dramatic? Scary? Did they cry? . . . Will we cry reading it? Or was it quick, and bloody?

[Please note, we do aim to keep it a pg-13 rating, so if your unsure as to if your death will fit, shoot me or a mod a PM.]

Come on [#username]! See if you can test out our writing skills on this one! Just post a reply.

[Paul Lahote]

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They say your whole life flashes before you when you die . . .

Speed was an integral part of combat. Strategic moves, well planned and executed ideas were imperative for survival. But sometimes, somewhere along the line, the battle intensifies and all strategy is lost. It becomes a desperate frenzy to protect those you fight with, as well as yourself and somewhere amidst the chaos, one loses their once rationalized plan of attack.

This very thing happened to Paul Moran.

Paul had not been overly confident going into battle. Since the moment his line of sight had been void of Rachael, he wanted to go back to her. After their intimate night together, and the many months prior to that, he wanted nothing more than to return to his love and embrace her, hold her in his arms. But now he was off to battle. He was prepared to fight, when he knew that the possible outcome was not favorable towards them. With one bite, they would die. One wrong move would be their very last.

Paul did not want to admit it to anyone, but he was terrified. He did not want to go. He knew there was a tremendous amount of responsibility that went hand in hand to being a wolf, but this was too much. He did not want to die so young, not when he had been living in the perfect world the past few months. Maybe if he had not imprinted, he would not be so reluctant to go, but he would not change anything for the world. He loved Rachael more than himself, more than life, and he was not willing to end his so soon after he had discovered the true meaning of love.

He had so many plans, he was planning to propose to her. He had the entire scenario planned out in his head, and was just waiting for the right moment, whether that be in the weeks, months, or years to come . . . he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. And now, what remained of his life could be a matter of minutes and he was far from her. The only way death would be worth it, was if it was somehow the only way to save her own life. But in this case, it was not . . . and Paul was fearful.

He phased into his wolf form for what may be the last time as he made his way to the pack.

Several moments had passed and negotiations were not running smoothly. Sam warned everyone to get into position, and Paul knew that this was it. This was the moment that they had all dreaded, but one that was inevitable. It was part of being the Protectors of La Push. Now, it was time to protect their land and their loved ones. With that justification in mind, Paul prepared himself.

The battle ensued. It was chaos. The vampires fighting vampires; the wolves fighting vampires; two separate packs with the same goal in mind. Paul was communicating with his pack, but it was the inconvenience of being unable to communicate with the other pack that was worrying him. Despite the differences they had, he still cared for them. In a way that a brother cared for his siblings. That was perhaps what forced his next actions.

Get him from behind! Move to the left to attack him. Remember, go straight for the head. Watch out for the teeth!

All of these commands were being screamed into Paul's mind. They were coming from different sources in his pack, though most were from his leader: Sam. He complied, but it was still to chaotic to tell who was winning and who was losing. None of the other vampires -- the ones they were fighting with -- appeared to be severely wounded, nor any wolves. But Paul could not tell clearly. Things were too hectic; there were screams, growls, cries of agony from those who were being ripped apart. It was all so intense, but Paul continued to do his duty. He growled as he finished tearing apart one of the vampires with his companion Jared. He looked at him before proceeding to another position of attack, or defense.

It was then that Paul's eye caught something. A massive vampire was approaching a wolf, one that Paul recognized immediately. How could he not, he had once been Paul's beta. He was the one who left his pack to form his own, the betrayal still stung. But all Paul could see him as right now, was Rachael's brother. He was the brother of the woman that Paul would risk life itself for . . . the woman who he could not bear seeing hurt by the death of her brother. Paul never wanted her to experience such pain.

He threw himself at Jacob, using all of his strength to push the massive wolf aside and take his place in the situation that nearly caused Jacob Black's death. The next thing Paul could feel were two fangs penetrating him, through his thick silver fur. He could feel it hit his skin and it was enough to cause him to howl. It was an agonizing cry that filled the air, and that caught the attention of every other wolf -- and perhaps even vampires -- . Paul did not notice. Once the vampire had bit him, he threw the wolf away, and Paul fell limply to the ground, as if he were a rag doll. He heard another growl as a wolf attack the vampire who bit him, and he could hear the vampire being torn apart. His blurred vision caught sight of it, and if Leah had still been in his pack, she would have heard his words of gratitude . . . but she would never know, for Paul Moran would never speak again.

They say that once the venom enters a wolf, death is instantaneous, but that was not true. Paul lay there, his eyes tightly shut as the pain of the venom spread through the veins in his body. It was not like any pain he had ever experienced. It was excruciating. It felt as if each hair on his wolf body was on fire, and there was nothing that could be done to put out the burning, painful sensation. Paul would have welcomed death . . . but he couldn't. He could not give up so easily, not when he had someone he needed to live for. Someone who he wanted to see one last time, and yet he could not accept that it was an impossibility right now.

Paul tried not to make any noise, but the whimpering and sudden increase in his breathing made it clear that the pain was not subsiding. How long would it take for it to consume him? Was he still in wolf form? Yes. This would be his only chance to relay a message to Rachael. It was now he felt that he had never told her enough times that he loved that. That he never appreciated her as much as he could have . . . as much as he should have. How many times did he tease her, when he really should have been saying how thankful he was that she had chosen him to be with? How many seconds had be been apart from her, when he could have been holding her in his arms? Every second he was away from her, he regretted for right now, he wanted nothing more than to be with her. If he was dying . . . if he had to die . . . he wanted to see her one last time. He wanted to tell her one last time. But he couldn't.

He struggled to keep life in him with the faint hope that she would some how miraculously come to him; that the danger was over and that he could see her one more time . . . one last time. Paul fought against the pain, but he could no longer put a show on. He could no longer be that tough-bad-ass person he had been his whole life. He was vulnerable right now, and even as a wolf, he felt tears form in his eyes and slowly trickle down his cheek.

Tell her I love her . . . I love her so much. And that I'm sorry . . . I'm so sorry.

What else could he say? Nothing, for he felt his body slowly phase back into his human from. He could no longer speak. He could no longer communicate with his pack, with his brothers . . . with his one sister. Paul forced himself to open his weak eyes. In the seconds that was left in his life, he prayed for a miracle. He could not sit up to see if she was there. He could not tell if the battle was over, for every background noise was drowned out. His direct line of sight was at the clouds in the sky. He was delirious from the pain . . . for he could have sworn he saw his angel right then and there. He could see her face, every perfect feature. He had looked at her for so long, and yet felt that he could stare at her for the rest of his life . . . and he did just that. He forced his eyes to stay open so that he could look at her for a moment longer.

She was here, she had come to him. Had Paul not been so delirious from the pain, he would have realized that it was just an hallucination, but he was not that conscious. He saw her, and that was the only image he needed to see in his mind before he could no longer fight the pain. Before he could not force another moment of life in him, for he felt it was getting sucked from his body.

A single tear streamed down his cheek from one of his eyes. He then, reluctantly, closed his eyes, as a small smile crept up on his lips. He wanted to say it again, he wanted to say those three words to her. He wanted to thank her, to profess his love for her, but he just could not do it. But with that last thought, and last image in his mind, peace consumed Paul. The pain was gone, and he now remained in an eternal slumber.

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_{Song lyrics from Remember Me by Josh Groban}

[Aro]

Challenge Fourteen: Death Scene
Volterra, Italy

I'm Not in Power, I Am Nothing

Aro had always had power or at least always wanted power. Even as a human even if the memories were faded and hard to remember he had always craved power. He was meant to have complete control. He did have it for over three thousand years, almost four he did! He was the leader of the Volturi, he still was. Aro did have several enemies this he was aware of. Many vampires feared the Volturi and it was right of them to. They appeared justified in their actions. They put on an appearance in all of their acts. Sometimes Caius was a bit to hasty about things, but Aro kept on the appearance on what the Volturi were. Of course Aro had never thought this would be how it would end. If he had he would have destroyed them when he had destroyed their coven, their castle. Everything they had was destroyed he would not have let them survive. He had wanted them to see how much grander the Volturi would be than their coven could ever have been. And it was, it was far grander than they could ever imagine. Aro was strict about who joined the Volturi not anyone could join they had to have some talent.

That would never happen again many of his guard were destroyed. The Volturi were finally put to a fair fight. Something they did not expect. Something they could not fight. They were defeated. The Romanians were getting their revenge. Aro didn't care if the humans knew their existence or not maybe it would best if they did. It would cause trouble for the Romanians. Their secret was needed it was no longer for convenience. But how that could change when their was a battle going on within Volterra. The place that was safest from a vampire attack. Was no longer. The Volturi's last act had been rushed they hadn't really thought things through. It angered just about all the vampires. The Romanians had done much persuading to gain such an army. Most would leave once there was nothing left of the Volturi. So many mistakes, so many lies.

Of course that's what Aro did he lied about many things. His sister's death being the main one. He had killed her to keep his power, but now he would not have it. He was not in power. He was nothing without power. Aro's hand were clenched as he faced the two Romanians, Stefan and Vladimir, he was going to die. There would be no other option for the vampire who took everything and destroyed everything they had. Aro didn't pay much attention to their words. What was the point? His death would be long and painful. Their words were about torturing him. They wanted him to beg for death. They wanted him to give in, but he would not. He was Aro of the Volturi. He would never give in to anyone. Aro smiled his eyes narrowing looking at his the two vampires who would make sure he suffered.

Of course with humans knowing about vampires right now their power may not be so easy to maintain. The Volturi made it a secret when the Romanians had wanted humans to know. The two covens so different and both power-hungry. He wanted the humans to know he wanted to have this difficult for the Romanians. Humans were becoming increasingly dangerous if they were to find out about vampires they may be able to kill them. Aro could only hope this is what would happen to the Romanians, but one could never know. Aro never gained Alice to know the future or any of the Cullen's he had wanted. But he had power for much longer than the Romanians. The reason for this was because they had let their appearance break to see how power-hunger they were. They were not as justified as they had seemed. And now it was their downfall.