In his dream, he could see himself. Himself, and someone else; his shadow. Or perhaps he himself was the other's shadow; he didn't know what the truth was sometimes. Even when he was awake he seldom knew, and only if he actually wasted a thought to the matter. In his dreams, he never knew.

He could hear the shadow - the other black knight - calling his name and moving closer to him, sword drawn. He smirked, drawing his own sword. Why he bothered, he didn't know. Fighting wasn't going to win him anything, not in here. Was he doing it in self-defense then, maybe? He couldn't tell. All he knew was that the knight facing him wanted him dead and would chase him to the end of the world to succeed.

He deflected the first blow easily, blocking it with his sword. The black-haired knight jumped back a little, swinging his sword at him again, the powerful strike almost knocking the sword out of his hands as he defended. The other knight moved to the side, dropping his sword low and then swinging it at his direction, and he barely managed to jump back to dodge the hit.

Another blow followed, aimed at his neck. He sidestepped, grinning, and retaliated by attempting to stab the other knight in the side. It didn't work nearly as well as he had hoped; the black-haired knight spun around, his orange cloak flapping as he did, moving right next to him in the progress and swinging his sword at his arm. The hit found its target, and he had to leap backwards to try to regain his balance, gritting his teeth in pain. The edge of the blade cut his shirt and his arm, making him bleed.

Pain? It wasn't supposed to be real, but in this world things didn't work as expected. It was not like pain mattered to him anyway. He laughed, his eyes following the other knight's every move from under his black helmet. He saw the next attack coming and dodged; his opponent missed but stopped suddenly and swung his sword through the space again, continuing from the previous swing. He barely managed to jump out of the way, but it gave him enough time to move away from the other knight, still laughing.

"You're getting slow..." He taunted, raising his sword to deflect the next hit. The shadow smirked and pressed his sword against his; in the end, he lost balance and had to dodge to the side.

"And you're out of shape," the black-haired knight answered, swinging his sword at him again. He didn't manage to dodge the hit, but it bounced off the armor covering his shoulders, leaving him unharmed. The other knight had to use a short moment to recover from the failed attack, and taking advantage of this opportunity, he struck at his opponent, successfully hitting the black knight on his right hand and making him drop the sword.

He didn't get a chance to finish the fight right there; the shadow dropped to his knees, making him miss his next blow that was aimed at the black-haired knight's unprotected arm. The other knight leaped forward, grabbed his weapon from the ground and dove past him, hitting at his feet. The blade scratched against his black boots, not harming him but forcing him to jump forward, giving the other knight a chance to get back on his feet.

"Slow?" The black-haired knight asked, striking again. "You aren't really moving too fast yourself. Perhaps it's this place..."

"Perhaps," he answered, grinning again. "Or perhaps this place messes up your senses..."

Hope it does; at least it messes up mine, he added in his mind. The place made him slightly disorientated. Dodging the other knight's blows seemed hard as it felt like the place didn't exist at all; it felt like they were fighting in the middle of emptiness.

Heh. But aren't we doing just that?

He took a few fast steps to the side again, bringing his sword in front of him to stop the other knight's blade from reaching him. The sound of their blades echoed in the space, again and again as they struck at each other. The black-haired knight attacked ferociously, and he wasn't holding back either. He couldn't; the other knight would have broken his defense the moment he started thinking he was better than the shadow was.

He wished he could have teleported, but the space didn't offer him such possibility. There was no escape from here, and the only way out was to beat the other knight. That was easier said than done; they were perfect equals and perfect opposites. Equally powerful, and with the same weaknesses. He swung his blade at the other knight again and grinned as he noticed him moving away and stopping to check his arm; he had managed to cut it.

"You wish you could escape, don't you?!" The black-haired knight yelled at him, charging again, swinging his sword down at him with incredible speed. He brought up his own weapon to block the blow and dodged to the side. He then turned to try and hit the other knight, who blocked it just as skillfully as he had done a second earlier.

"Maybe so. I don't like fighting in here too much," he answered, pulling away and jumping backwards just a moment before the knight's sword would have hit against his armor.

The black knight smirked calmly, a smirk perfectly reflecting his own. "Or maybe you're afraid of me."

"Afraid?" He asked, stabbing quickly at the other knight's legs. He almost got the blow in, but his opponent moved at the last possible moment and his sword hit against the armor plate protecting the side of the knight's thigh.

"Afraid of you? Don't make me laugh..."

"Then..." The other knight began, hitting several times with his sword, all blows deflected. "Then why do you keep running?"

He shrugged, a hint of a smile on his lips. "Maybe I don't like fighting you. It lacks something, you know. Like this battle, right here. There's no chaos; you just wish for me to die..."

"Indeed." The black-haired knight raised his sword, stopping before the next attack. They stared at each other for a fleeting moment then charged, their swords meeting half a second later. Sparks bounced off their blades as they met, the sounds of the battle still echoing around them. The whole scene seemed unreal, but yet, more real than anything.

He paused before the next blow, mirroring his opponent. How long had they been fighting? He didn't know, but there was so little he knew when it came to this place. He didn't feel tired, but he knew the other knight wasn't going to get tired anytime soon either. They could both go on forever in this strange space where they didn't belong to, and yet, they did belong here. It was like an ultimate battleground with nothing to disturb them. It was just the two of them, swinging their blades through the emptiness.

But there's also no chaos, as there's no order. This is... balance?

The thought disturbed him, and he frowned. His opponent's next attack almost got him, but he dropped down on one knee and swung his sword almost blindly at the other knight's thigh, almost surprised as he felt the hit connecting. The black-haired knight cursed aloud, stepping away, obviously in pain.

"Had enough?" He asked, standing up and lowering his sword. "You could just leave me alone, you know."

"Never. I've sworn to track you down and kill you..." The other knight laughed, suddenly charging at him again. He knew he had dropped his guard and the black-haired knight knew it as well. He felt sudden pain in his side and dropped to his knees, knowing he had made a mistake. The mistake cost him his sword and the battle, as the other knight was suddenly beside him and yanked the blade from his hands. The next thing he knew, the edge of the black knight's weapon was pressed to his throat, and the other knight was kneeling beside him.

"Will you yield?" The black knight asked.

"Heh. Never, " he answered, throwing his head back and laughing. "You know better than that. You can't kill me here. Your victory... It's useless. There was no point to this fight."

"True," the other knight answered, reaching to him to remove his helmet while still holding the sword at his throat. He shook his head as the other took his helmet, letting his blond hair fall down on his face. He raised one hand to clear the hair from his eyes then just stared at the other knight.

"What will you do then?" He asked, amusement apparent in his voice. "You can't possibly harm me here and you know it. This place is a dream, a place your mind apparently found at the same time as mine. How ironic, really. I came here to rest, and well what the hell, look who I just have to run into in here?"

The other knight didn't answer but lowered his sword, placing it away. He then removed his helmet, letting his long black hair fall freely on his face.

"You called me here, kind of. I felt your presence here and followed."

He didn't get a chance to answer or get away now that the other knight had put his weapon down. He suddenly found himself straddled, lying on his back on the ground. He tried grabbing the other knight and pushing him away, but then the sword returned, cold blade pressed against his skin, making him freeze.

"I can, however," the black-haired knight continued, leaning closer to him and starting to remove parts of his armor. "...weaken you... steal away your strength. Chaos is what gives you power, and if I take that away from you, you'll be left helpless for a while. That might provide me a chance to find you. And the battle that will ensue then... That battle I can win, and in that battle, I can kill you. Until then..."

He protested as much as he could, but even though the sword that was held to his throat couldn't kill him, it could hurt him. He didn't care about the pain; didn't care about the fact that the blade cut into his skin and made him bleed. He fought more but soon found himself stripped. The knight could easily remove the armor and the clothes he was wearing; after all, the black knight was wearing an identical armor himself.

"And how exactly are you going to weaken me?" He asked, giving the other knight a dark glare. "Removing my armor won't do much..."

The black-haired knight grinned almost sadistically, looking somewhat out of character for the calm black knight that he usually was. "Balance will. You need chaos, but if combined with the opposite force, there will only be balance."

"Clever. But how will you bring forth balance in a place where neither order nor chaos exist?"

"How about..." The other knight continued, removing parts of his own armor while still holding the sword where it was. Because of that, he could only lie there and stare at his opponent curiously, somewhat confused.

The black armor and the other knight's clothes were cast to the side and so was the sword a moment later. Before he got a chance to resist, however, something overrode his already blurred senses. He hadn't noticed the other knight get off of him and move between his legs; now he didn't have time to notice the black-haired knight force his legs apart and grab him by the thighs. When he did realize what was going on, the scenery around him turned black for a moment, and he screamed from pain.

"How about, like this?"

He blinked a couple of times as the initial pain left him, then managed to open his eyes and glare death at the other knight. Rape hadn't crossed his mind; it was not like he would consider the act to be anything special. How this brought balance, he wasn't sure of, but the black-haired knight seemed to know what he was doing. He felt torn apart from the inside; he was bleeding and the pain from the act burned his senses. He ceased moving, and he suddenly found himself laughing.

"You think you can hurt me like this?" He asked, grabbing the other knight's black hair with one hand.

"No," came the calm reply. "I don't mean to hurt you anyway, so you'll just have to excuse the rather sudden entrance. Unfortunately, I didn't have time for foreplay... Not that I'd think that you'd be interested in any."

"Hmm." He lay down, relaxing a little. "I didn't think you were into this stuff..."

"I don't have to be, to achieve my goal."

He wondered what exactly the black knight was trying to accomplish. To get him to like this? That wasn't too hard. The goal wasn't to hurt him anyway. He closed his eyes, slightly annoyed by the feeling of the other knight moving inside of him. He didn't exactly want to find himself enjoying this, but he was. Pain, blood; those were elements of destruction leading to chaos, and the fact that the pain and the blood were his own didn't change that. It gave him strength, and he found himself laughing more. To find balance, this wouldn't do.

Wait...?

The other knight covered his lips with his own, kissing him deeply and fiercely, the kiss adding its effect to his already burning body. He was aroused, enjoying this immensely. He wrapped his legs around the other knight, responding to the movements. The length pressing into him gave him great pleasure; he felt the other knight's left hand advancing on his chest, caressing him.

What are you...?

He blinked, finding tears in his eyes. It was so odd, a very strange feeling; he never cried. The black-haired knight's tongue explored his mouth and he couldn't help but give in to the kiss, feeling how it all burned his body even more. It hurt him, it gave him bliss, and then he finally realized what this was about.

"...No..."

"Thought you'd realize it sooner or later," the other knight mumbled, lips advancing on his jaw and down his neck, to lick away the blood that the sword held there earlier had drawn.

"No... Not like... This..." He sobbed in the other knight's hold, unable to control himself. This was what the black-haired knight had mentioned earlier. The chaos he felt was met with something else; something just as strong, and he felt it every time the other knight pressed into him, driving him to cling helplessly to the black knight. He heard his own voice, too soft and filled with bliss to belong to him. He felt it now; inside of him, present in both of them. The balance he so loathed filled them both, making him weep silently.

The black-haired knight had a high price to pay for his actions as well; there was no control, no order and no chaos; just a perfect harmony as they moved together, lost in their pleasure. Neither of them wanted it but neither of them could get away. The space around them was empty; there was only the two of them, entangled in their perfect pleasure, and everything else in the universe was meaningless.

He clung to the other knight, feeling tears falling from his eyes. He could also feel something warm and wet against his neck; the other knight was crying as well. He hated it, and he wanted it more than anything. He wished to end it, and he wished to continue it forever.

His first wish was granted to him; he felt the heat leaving his body as he came at the same time as the other knight, calling out one word, one name before the darkness ripped him away from the emptiness.

"Pesmerga...!!!"

This... Yuber opened his eyes slowly, taking a deep breath. The ruins he had chosen as the place for his rest were dark; he wasn't sure how much time had passed. Not that it mattered. Considering the place where his mind had been, the time in this world could have moved on for a year, or for only a few minutes, and it wouldn't have mattered to him.

He tried to stand up but felt too weak. He settled to sitting down, resting his back against the hard stone wall.

"This," he continued aloud, talking to no one particular. Actually, there was someone listening to him, if he had paid attention; a couple of random monsters sat nearby, attracted by his presence.

"This is why I should never sleep."

Author's notes:

I told someone this pairing could be done and that I could do it, so yeah. Random idea I got when thinking about something. Hard to write in that form since I don't use their names until the very end, but I think you can figure out who the "he" whose point of view we're watching the scene from is.

In the other news, I'm so never writing fight scenes again.

- Lady Harken (September, 2003)