CHapter 42-The Return of the Kwisatz Haderach!

Chapter 42

CHANI KYNES

Chani's mind had been a whirl ever since the kanli had been announced as she tried to come to terms with the implication of this great battle, only to realise that she could never.

She loved Paul, loved him for his smiles, his insecurities, his troubles, and his bravery, and though he was no longer himself—his body now controlled by a person who claimed to be their son, she understood this, Leto as well. She had spent days pouting over what she had learned of him from both himself and Inzal, and she was heart broken at his life.

A life of solitude and duty, ending in a tragedy. He was pitiful, and he was her son. She knew that on instinct, and yet she could not cheer for him. For while they may be her son and her lover, the person who stood opposite to them was their savior.

Inzal was like a brother to her, the one who had rescued thousands of her people, putting his own life in jeopardy. He had fought for them, dedicated his whole life to them, and she could not abandon him.

No matter the outcome of this fight, she was set to lose.

Unless she did the impossible. Paul's condition was much similar to the daughter of Lady Jessica, Alia. From what she had been able to gleam out, Paul was still alive, only held back by the raging personality of Leto.

The only way for her was to bring him back, and yet what could she do to bring him back? She had tried everything already, begging, pleading, and much more, yet all of it had little to no effect.

Leaving her with only one choice. As Inzal and Pa-Leto fought, she held her breath, prepared for the inevitable. The battle was an unimaginable display of inhuman prowess from both sides, making her realsied just how wide the gap between them and a normal person was.

Both Inzal and Leto were not normal humans, and they were gods, fighting while putting everything on the line and yet one would fall. And it would be Paul, unable to keep up with Inzal's speed, he would fail only for Inzal to stand up right over him as he raised his blade, his own body bleeding profusely from the various cuts littered all across it.

"I win," she heard him whisper, yet before his blade could pierce Paul's skin, she intervened, jumping across the desert as she took out her blade from the pocket in one swift motion and parried Inzal's strike.

She saw his eyes widen as he was pushed back, as she pushed himself in between him and Paul.

"CHANI!"

"CHANI!"

She heard both Irulan and Lady Jessica speak aghast at her display as Inzal's eyes narrowed.

"What do you think you are doing Chani?" he questioned, his tone threatening as his grip over his blade tightened and she bit her lip as she answered.

"What I should have done in the first place," and at that, she flipped the dagger in her hand and gripped it tightly as she looked towards Paul and smiled at him, and swung it.

Not at him.

But at her own neck, as two screams filled the clearing.

"NOOOO!"

"NOOOO!"

As she felt the knife cut through her skin, she felt a pain sear through her, yet the pain did not come from her neck. No, it came from her face.

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PAUL ATREIDES

Paul saw it. He, the actual Paul Atreides saw it. For too long he had been but a blip in the grand sea of consciousness that now traversed through his mind, too weak to overpower the grand sea of power and influence that was Leto.

And yet, in the two weeks since, he had begun to understand this boy of his, of the loneliness that gripped his heart. And yet he was powerless to do anything, and could only watch as Leto threatened to destroy everything he held dear.

And yet he could not do it anymore. Not as the love of his life was set to die infront of him.

He watched through Leto's—through his own eyes as Chani spun that dagger in her hand, as dread gripped his very soul. And not just his own, as Leto shook as well, as Chani turned to look at them, she looked into his eyes, as if not at Leto but him, knowing that he was watching this as she mouthed.

'Goodbye.' And swung that blade, and not at him. No, at herself, and in that moment, Paul ripped apart Leto's consciousness, decimated it as he pushed himself forward, breaking the chains that bound him as he roared.

"NOOOO!" and jumped forth, the pain from the injuries hit him first as he lunged at Chani, praying to any deity that would listen to let him stop her.

And yet his muscles screamed in agony, his tendons lay cut as he put his hand forward, and through a miracle, he was able to touch her hand, touch it as the blade was to pierce her neck, and though he could not stop it, he pushed it aside, as Chani's pain filled scream cut through the air.

"AGHHH!" and he fell down, his head hit the ground as he felt the ground for the first time in so long, as Chani's scream filled the air.

He twisted, forgetting about his own injuries, and stilled as he saw the blood-soaked dagger lying beside her, as a scarlet liquid seeped into the sand below, dying it all.

"No," he gasped out as he reached for her with shaky hands, tilted her body, and watched as she screamed in pain, yet the dagger had not cut her neck. But her face, and his heart lurched as he saw the gnash cutting right across her eyes, possibly making her blind.

"NOOO!" he screamed, as he held her in his arms, his hands caressing her face as he looked to the side at the those gathered around them.

"HELP HER! PLEASE I BEG YOU! HELPP HER!" he screamed, as he looked towards his mother and saw her eyes widen.

"Paul..." she gasped out as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Yes, it is me," he said as he turned towards Inzal.

"I beg you. I accept my defeat! Just help her! You can have anything you desire! ANYTHING! JUST HELP HER!" he pleaded, as suddenly a strange feeling lurched up from within, as he felt his mouth move on its own and yet the voice was not his own.

"You win Inzal Kazab Corrino! How could I hope to defeat you when I couldn't even defeat my father's love!" and he saw everyone's face stiffen at that voice.

"I beg you not to blame them for my misgivings! Save her! My Mother and I shall serve you in your purpose!" Leto finished, and then Paul felt his presence vanish as a complicated feeling filled his gut, yet he pushed it down, not having the heart to deal with it as of now.

For he had much greater concerns at the moment as he met Inzal's gaze.

The boy gave him a nod as he looked toward his sister, Princess Irulan, and asked her.

"Help her," he asked, and she nodded as she began to examine Chani's wound as he caressed her face.

"I am here now. Please forgive me! I am here," he said as he pushed back her hair and saw her reach for his face. A smile blossomed on his face.

"Is it really you?" she asked with a shaky and hoarse voice. He nodded as tears fell down his face.

"Yeah. It is me, Paul. So please hold on, my precious 'sihaya'," he pleaded as he kissed her hand and saw her wince as the Princess cleaned the wound.

"You took your sweet time, you damn 'muadib'," she complained and he nodded.

"I am sorry. But I am here now, and I promise that I will not leave you again. Never again," he promised as he looked towards the Princess, who had a grave expression on her face.

"Thankfully, the cut was clean. But I don't think I can save her eyes," she said as she looked at him, making him lose his heart as he realized the implication behind those words.

In Fremen culture, sight was held sacred. It was considered a gift, and for those who would lose their sight, life was considered over, and they would be given back to the desert.

And his heart stilled at those words.

"There has to be something? Maybe something Ixia..." he asked, yet Chani cut in.

"No, I will not have those monsters tamper with my body. I shall face what may come my way," she said as she smiled at him.

"I am just glad that I was able to save you, my love," she said as tears dripped down his eyes, and he had not missed how Inzal had been quite all this time looking at the skies.

"This was why I did not want to bring down the shields until I was done dealing with those damned bastards," he heard him mutter as he picked up his dagger and got into his stance as he felt around a dozen presences surround them.

"Facedancers," he realized, and Inzal nodded.

"Yeah. They were ready to infiltrate the second I dropped down the shields and were already here. And these are not the only ones. There are a few of them trying to secure a sample sandworm as well to take back to the Ixians so that they may make spice on their own," Inzal told him as Paul's lips thinned.

The Ixians and the Bene Tleilaxu were many things, but they were not foolish. They would have already realized that, unlike his father, they had nothing to blackmail Inzal with. And that if he were to ascend to the throne, he would probably go after them and try to curb their unchecked power.

'It was what he--Leto wanted to do. What he did, though at great cost to himself?'

He looked at the bloodied form of Inzal getting ready to face the facedancers, at the bleeding form of Chani in his lap, at the scared form of her mother as she looked around nervously as the face dancers surrounded them—and realized that he was responsible for all this.

That this all was caused by his stupidity. His actions had pushed them all into this.

And he also knew of the fate that awaited Chani now, as she had lost her eyesight.

And he had to do something. He had to. Otherwise, what good was he? Both as Paul Atreides and as the so-called Kwisatz Haderach.

And so, with his mind made up, he kissed Chani on the forehead as he pushed her head into the Princess's lap and spoke to her softly.

"Take care of her. I need to do something," and she had sweat running down her face as she treated Chani's injuries as he picked up the very knife she had struck herself with and stood up.

"They are all wearing earplugs to combat my use of the Voice," Inzal informed him with bitterness in his tone.

"They came prepared for me," he cursed, and Paul walked upto him.

"How long will it take for you to bring up the shields once more," he asked as Inzal frowned.

"Around five minutes. But I cannot do that while fighting these many face dancers while being injured. One or two was one thing, but there are a dozen of them here," Inzal complained.

"Then do it," he informed him. He took a deep breath and then let it out slowly as he pushed forth his senses. One thing that Leto's possession had taught him was how to use his powers as Kwisatz Haderach, and now, as he pushed them to the limits, he felt the world slow down as Inzal frowned.

Paul stepped forward, pushing all the pain and injuries to the back of his mind, focusing everything he had on the enemies that surrounded them. And unlike Inzal, who was a Haderach, they were not.

"They came prepared for you," he said to Inzal as he pulled up his mask and gripped his blade tightly.

"Not for me..."

And with that, he sprung forward while throwing a pocket knife to his side as a Face Dancer held his neck, as its body fell to the ground as he began a slaughterhouse.

.

.

.

.

And just as he plunged his knife into the neck of the last facedancer, he felt them—the shields around Arrakis went up again as a massive cheer erupted from all over the city, for this marked his victory.

He stood tall, as he stood there in the midst of a slaughter caked in blood from head to toe, as he turned towards Inzal, who stood infront of Chani and the rest, as two Face dancers lay dead infront of him.

"It's over. They are all trapped here now," Inzal said, and he nodded. With the shields up they had no way of escaping Inzal. They could hide away anywhere, and he would find them and kill them at his own leisure.

And with the power of the Imperium behind him, Paul knew that the Ixians and Bene Tleilaxu were about to learn the true meaning of the word fear.

"And now, what are we to do about you?" Inzal asked as he looked him in the eye.

"Do whatever you wish," he asked, and he saw his mother's trembling gaze shift towards Inzal, who continued to look at him with those blue eyes of his.

"What do you want, Paul?" he asked him, and his eyes landed on Chani.

"You know what I want," he said forlornly.

"Though with your victory confirmed. I doubt you can let me live," he said as he dropped down to his knees and let go of the knife as it clattered to the ground.

And Inzal walked up to him, his dagger in hand as he stood in front of him again.

"I thought of you as a brother, but it is a shame that I cannot let you live. Not as Leto, or as Paul..." and he watched as his mother evaded her gaze as Chani screamed and Lady Jessica both screamed.

"NOOO..." and he closed his own eyes as Inzal swung that blade.

SLASH!

So, of the five who had walked into the kanli, only four made it back, and, Inzal Kazab Corrino was proclaimed the Emperor once more as many mourned the loss of Paul Atreides.

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