Unloved
He braced himself, tightening his fists and clenching his teeth, and waited for the pain to strike. After waiting for several seconds, Juan dared to open his eye. He was half-expecting to see his attacker dead, one of the other members of Budehuc's staff being the cause.
However, he saw nothing. Absolutely nothing. No castle, no enemies, no staff, no trees, no anything. Looking down, Juan saw that, although he felt himself standing on something, there was no ground underneath his feet.
He was standing in a dark void, deep magenta streams of light sparkling all around.
Juan suddenly remembered what happened. He quickly looked at his stomach. There was no wound at all. Although slightly confused, Juan had a feeling on what happened to him.
Looking up, Juan bit his lip. He looked around. "Hello?" He called out. "Is there anyone out there?"
His question went unanswered. Juan stood in silence for a few more seconds before asking his initial question.
"Am I dead?"
"Yes and no."
Juan spun around, staring in the direction of the mysterious voice. Standing several yards away from him was a young-looking woman with long, flowing reddish hair. She wore what looked like old battle armour. Despite the fact they were standing in a dark void, her eyes were sparkling.
The normally lazy man gasped and backed up a couple steps. "Your face! I've seen pictures of you!" He exclaimed. "Y-You're Odessa Silverberg!"
The woman chuckled. "I see I'm still remembered."
"Why are you here? Why am I here?" Juan asked. "Shouldn't I be dead?"
"You are." Odessa said simply.
"What?"
"Juan, that sword blow you took was fatal." Odessa explained. "No one could survive it, with the possible exceptions of Yuber and Leknaat."
"Well then, what am I doing here if I'm dead?" Juan asked.
"Because it's not your time yet."
Juan stood in silence, staring at Odessa with an odd expression. "What do you mean by that?" He asked.
"Juan, have you ever sopped to think about how much you mean to the castle and the people living there?" Odessa quizzed.
Juan sighed. "What could people like about me to begin with?" He countered. "I lay around a lot of the day, and since the Fire Bringer days finished, Emily's been doing all of the work at the Bujitsu center."
Odessa smirked. "You'd been surprised." She said.
Juan folded his arms. "Try me."
"Very well." Odessa replied. "Keep in mind that where we're going, no one will be able to hear you or see you."
Juan nodded. "Okay."
Before Juan could do anything else, a white light blinded him.
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When Juan could finally see again, he saw that he was back in Budehuc with Odessa by his side. It was just as Juan remembered it. Mirages were everywhere, fighting the staff members that could fight.
Juan watched as Thomas, Cecile, Piccolo, Kenji, Emily and himself fight off the Mirages as best they could, managing to do decent damage.
He didn't know why so many Mirages had invaded all of a sudden, but he would've bet that it had something to do with Yuber. Juan watched himself and Emily fight off the Mirages in their area, standing only a few feet away from each other.
Juan suddenly saw himself turn towards Emily after ducking a swing from one of the Mirages. He saw that a Mirage was getting ready to slash Emily in the back while she was turned around.
"Emily! LOOK OUT!" Juan heard himself shout as he charged towards Emily.
The young man watched himself dive at Emily and push her out of the way, just as the Mirage took the swing.
*ZING!*
"JUAN!!!" Emily screamed.
Juan watched in shock as his now-lifeless body fell to the ground, a gaping sword wound in his stomach. What shocked him even more is how Emily, tears now flowing freely from her eyes, utterly destroyed the rest of the Mirages out of pure rage, her tears flying in all directions.
"I-Is she doing all of this because of me?" Juan asked, eyes wide.
Odessa nodded. "Your death fueled her anger beyond normal limits." She explained. "She's crying for two reasons. One, because you sacrificed yourself to save her. And two, because she feels that it's her fault that you're dead."
Juan mouth fell open. "But...It wasn't her fault." He said.
"She feels like it is." Odessa replied.
"I think I believe you about people liking me, Odessa." Juan said.
"It's not finished, Juan." Odessa replied.
Suddenly, the scene went in fast-forward, the only ones not being effected being himself and Odessa. Juan watched as Thomas and the rest of the staff came onto the scene and saw Emily crying over his dead body, collapsed to her knees.
In a matter of seconds, Juan found himself in the Infirmary as time returned to normal. His body was lying on a bed, his wound making the white sheets start to turn red. All of the staff that could fight were standing around the bed, joined by the rest of the staff: Martha, Muto, Eike, Sebastian, Kathy and Jefferson. Emily sat on a chair beside the bed, still sobbing her heart out. Everyone else, even Jefferson, was wiping tears from their eyes. Even Eike was hanging his head, looking at the floor.
"See how much you're liked, Juan?" Odessa asked. "Even Eike and Jefferson, the two people that you dislike, are upset that you're dead."
Juan couldn't believe it. Every member of the staff was upset that he was gone. "I...I don't deserve this much love." Juan whispered as he felt himself starting to cry. "I treated everyone like almost no respect and they still cry over me when I die."
"It's not over." Odessa said. "Look at Emily."
Juan looked at the red-haired girl. His eyes widened even more when he saw her embracing his body, still sobbing. It took the combined efforts of Jefferson and Muto to pry her from his body.
"She...She cares for me..." Juan said as more tears came to his face.
"Now do you see what people really think about you, Juan?" Odessa asked as the scene faded away, returning the duo to the dark void.
Juan nodded. "I can't believe how foolish I was." He said. "I feel so horrible that I never treated the guys with the respect they deserved."
"That's what brings me to my main point, Juan." Odessa said. "I said that it wasn't your time yet."
Juan turned his tear-stained face to look at Odessa. "What?"
"You and I have one thing in common, Juan." Odessa said. "We each died protecting someone. You died saving a friend and I died saving a child."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Juan sniffed, wiping his tears away.
"You see, when I died, it was my time, because the child I saved grew up to be an important person." Odessa explained. "But you, on the other hand, died saving the one you were destined to spend the rest of your life with."
Juan's mouth fell open as his eyes bulged. "Are you saying that Emily is-"
"Destined to become your wife, Juan." Odessa finished with a smile.
Juan stood in silence, staring off into space. "Whoa." He could only say, sitting down. Strangely, even though he wasn't sitting on anything, he still felt like he was.
"Juan, you can still go back." Odessa said. "You can go back to the ones that care for you and start treating them with respect."
Juan bit his lip, in deep thought. In didn't take him long to know his answer. "Yes. I want to go back." He said, looking up at Odessa.
"Keep in mind that you WILL be in a lot of pain." Odessa said. "Your wound won't heal itself when you go back."
Juan nodded. "I understand."
"Very well." Odessa smiled. "Close your eyes."
Juan did as he was told, and suddenly felt a strange energy blowing all around him.
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The staff stood over Juan's body, all of them looking upset. None were worse than Emily, who had buried her head into Eike's arm to continue crying.
While everyone was watching Emily, no one noticed that Juan's lips started twitching as he slowly opened his eyes halfway.
Juan quickly realized that Odessa was right about being in pain. He never knew that a sword wound could hurt so much. Still, he felt too weak to cry out in pain. Instead, he listened in on the conversation.
"I-It's all my fault!" Emily sobbed. "If I had just kept my eyes open, I would've seen that Mirage about to attack!"
"Emily, it's not your fault." Thomas insisted.
"Yes, it is!" Emily replied.
"...N-No, it's not..." A voice came from the bed.
Everyone's eyes sprang open. Even Eike's eyes widened slightly. They all turned to stare at the bed to see Juan, alive and barely awake.
"JUAN!!!" Emily cried as she pulled herself from Eike and rushed towards Juan again, throwing her arms around him, being careful not to hurt him even more. "YOU'RE ALRIGHT!!"
Although shocked, Thomas quickly turned to Sebastian. "Mr. Sebastian, go to the Inn and get the doctor!" He instructed. Ever since Tuta had left, the castle had gotten a permanent paramedic.
"A-At once!" Sebastian replied as he rushed out of the room with Muto behind him.
"I-I don't believe it!" Cecile said, staring at Juan. "We couldn't find any pulse or heartbeat!"
"You guys wouldn't believe me if I told you." Juan replied weakly. He quickly turned to Emily. "I don't want you blaming yourself over what happened. It's not your fault."
"But I can't help feeling guilty about it." Emily whimpered.
"Believe me, Emily." Juan soothed. "I saved you out of my own free will. You had no clue as to what was going to happen."
Juan looked up at the rest of the staff. "My whole ordeal made me think." He said. "I'm real sorry for not treating you guys with more respect, especially Eike and Jefferson. As soon as I get better, I'm hoping to change that."
"Well...Thank you, Juan." Eike said. "But what caused this...Change of heart?"
Juan smirked. "Let's just say that someone special helped me realize my mistakes." He turned to Emily. "Emily, I think I'll start with treating you better. After I get better, how does a date in Iksay sound?"
Emily stood in silence before a smile started to appear on her face. She suddenly threw her arms around Juan again.
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Seven years passed. The whole staff, minus Juan and Emily, were waiting outside the Infirmary.
Juan had stuck with his promise to treat everyone with more respect. Not only was he getting along with Eike, but he was also falling asleep far less often, leaving him open to help out.
During those years, Juan and Emily had married, and were about to have their first child. Thomas and Cecile had just become engaged, and were waiting for the perfect time to get married. Eike had mysteriously stayed looking exactly the same as he did seven years ago. Martha and Piccolo still hadn't retired from either of their professions, and were still as active as they always were. Other than that, not much else had changed.
Suddenly, the door to the Infirmary opened and a twenty-six year-old Juan stepped out, looking happy. He looked almost just like he did seven years ago, although he now had a blonde mustache to go with his hair.
"I-I'm a father!" Juan exclaimed. "I have a daughter!"
Everyone quickly congratulated Juan, giving him handshakes and other friendly gestures. Eike had even given Juan a good slap on the back to congratulate him.
"Can we see her?" Cecile asked excitedly.
Juan nodded as he led everyone back into the Infirmary. Everyone quickly saw Emily lying in a bed, holding a tiny, baby girl. Everyone quickly arrived at the bedside.
"She's real beautiful." Muto whispered.
"Thank you." Emily replied with a smile.
"What are you going to call her?" Jefferson asked.
Juan and Emily looked at each other, expecting the other to tell them the name.
"You tell them." Emily urged. "It was your idea."
Juan chuckled as he turned to the rest of the staff. "We've named her Odessa."
Everyone agreed that it was a good name, and continued to congratulate the new parents.
However, unknown to everyone, even Juan and Emily, fifteen years in the future, little Odessa would lead a new army to victory similar to that of the Fire Bringer war.
END
Author's notes: Eh, I know the Juan/Emily in this fic isn't as obvious, but at least it's there.
Sorry, but that's the whole fic. It's just a one-shot.
Please read and review!
He braced himself, tightening his fists and clenching his teeth, and waited for the pain to strike. After waiting for several seconds, Juan dared to open his eye. He was half-expecting to see his attacker dead, one of the other members of Budehuc's staff being the cause.
However, he saw nothing. Absolutely nothing. No castle, no enemies, no staff, no trees, no anything. Looking down, Juan saw that, although he felt himself standing on something, there was no ground underneath his feet.
He was standing in a dark void, deep magenta streams of light sparkling all around.
Juan suddenly remembered what happened. He quickly looked at his stomach. There was no wound at all. Although slightly confused, Juan had a feeling on what happened to him.
Looking up, Juan bit his lip. He looked around. "Hello?" He called out. "Is there anyone out there?"
His question went unanswered. Juan stood in silence for a few more seconds before asking his initial question.
"Am I dead?"
"Yes and no."
Juan spun around, staring in the direction of the mysterious voice. Standing several yards away from him was a young-looking woman with long, flowing reddish hair. She wore what looked like old battle armour. Despite the fact they were standing in a dark void, her eyes were sparkling.
The normally lazy man gasped and backed up a couple steps. "Your face! I've seen pictures of you!" He exclaimed. "Y-You're Odessa Silverberg!"
The woman chuckled. "I see I'm still remembered."
"Why are you here? Why am I here?" Juan asked. "Shouldn't I be dead?"
"You are." Odessa said simply.
"What?"
"Juan, that sword blow you took was fatal." Odessa explained. "No one could survive it, with the possible exceptions of Yuber and Leknaat."
"Well then, what am I doing here if I'm dead?" Juan asked.
"Because it's not your time yet."
Juan stood in silence, staring at Odessa with an odd expression. "What do you mean by that?" He asked.
"Juan, have you ever sopped to think about how much you mean to the castle and the people living there?" Odessa quizzed.
Juan sighed. "What could people like about me to begin with?" He countered. "I lay around a lot of the day, and since the Fire Bringer days finished, Emily's been doing all of the work at the Bujitsu center."
Odessa smirked. "You'd been surprised." She said.
Juan folded his arms. "Try me."
"Very well." Odessa replied. "Keep in mind that where we're going, no one will be able to hear you or see you."
Juan nodded. "Okay."
Before Juan could do anything else, a white light blinded him.
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When Juan could finally see again, he saw that he was back in Budehuc with Odessa by his side. It was just as Juan remembered it. Mirages were everywhere, fighting the staff members that could fight.
Juan watched as Thomas, Cecile, Piccolo, Kenji, Emily and himself fight off the Mirages as best they could, managing to do decent damage.
He didn't know why so many Mirages had invaded all of a sudden, but he would've bet that it had something to do with Yuber. Juan watched himself and Emily fight off the Mirages in their area, standing only a few feet away from each other.
Juan suddenly saw himself turn towards Emily after ducking a swing from one of the Mirages. He saw that a Mirage was getting ready to slash Emily in the back while she was turned around.
"Emily! LOOK OUT!" Juan heard himself shout as he charged towards Emily.
The young man watched himself dive at Emily and push her out of the way, just as the Mirage took the swing.
*ZING!*
"JUAN!!!" Emily screamed.
Juan watched in shock as his now-lifeless body fell to the ground, a gaping sword wound in his stomach. What shocked him even more is how Emily, tears now flowing freely from her eyes, utterly destroyed the rest of the Mirages out of pure rage, her tears flying in all directions.
"I-Is she doing all of this because of me?" Juan asked, eyes wide.
Odessa nodded. "Your death fueled her anger beyond normal limits." She explained. "She's crying for two reasons. One, because you sacrificed yourself to save her. And two, because she feels that it's her fault that you're dead."
Juan mouth fell open. "But...It wasn't her fault." He said.
"She feels like it is." Odessa replied.
"I think I believe you about people liking me, Odessa." Juan said.
"It's not finished, Juan." Odessa replied.
Suddenly, the scene went in fast-forward, the only ones not being effected being himself and Odessa. Juan watched as Thomas and the rest of the staff came onto the scene and saw Emily crying over his dead body, collapsed to her knees.
In a matter of seconds, Juan found himself in the Infirmary as time returned to normal. His body was lying on a bed, his wound making the white sheets start to turn red. All of the staff that could fight were standing around the bed, joined by the rest of the staff: Martha, Muto, Eike, Sebastian, Kathy and Jefferson. Emily sat on a chair beside the bed, still sobbing her heart out. Everyone else, even Jefferson, was wiping tears from their eyes. Even Eike was hanging his head, looking at the floor.
"See how much you're liked, Juan?" Odessa asked. "Even Eike and Jefferson, the two people that you dislike, are upset that you're dead."
Juan couldn't believe it. Every member of the staff was upset that he was gone. "I...I don't deserve this much love." Juan whispered as he felt himself starting to cry. "I treated everyone like almost no respect and they still cry over me when I die."
"It's not over." Odessa said. "Look at Emily."
Juan looked at the red-haired girl. His eyes widened even more when he saw her embracing his body, still sobbing. It took the combined efforts of Jefferson and Muto to pry her from his body.
"She...She cares for me..." Juan said as more tears came to his face.
"Now do you see what people really think about you, Juan?" Odessa asked as the scene faded away, returning the duo to the dark void.
Juan nodded. "I can't believe how foolish I was." He said. "I feel so horrible that I never treated the guys with the respect they deserved."
"That's what brings me to my main point, Juan." Odessa said. "I said that it wasn't your time yet."
Juan turned his tear-stained face to look at Odessa. "What?"
"You and I have one thing in common, Juan." Odessa said. "We each died protecting someone. You died saving a friend and I died saving a child."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Juan sniffed, wiping his tears away.
"You see, when I died, it was my time, because the child I saved grew up to be an important person." Odessa explained. "But you, on the other hand, died saving the one you were destined to spend the rest of your life with."
Juan's mouth fell open as his eyes bulged. "Are you saying that Emily is-"
"Destined to become your wife, Juan." Odessa finished with a smile.
Juan stood in silence, staring off into space. "Whoa." He could only say, sitting down. Strangely, even though he wasn't sitting on anything, he still felt like he was.
"Juan, you can still go back." Odessa said. "You can go back to the ones that care for you and start treating them with respect."
Juan bit his lip, in deep thought. In didn't take him long to know his answer. "Yes. I want to go back." He said, looking up at Odessa.
"Keep in mind that you WILL be in a lot of pain." Odessa said. "Your wound won't heal itself when you go back."
Juan nodded. "I understand."
"Very well." Odessa smiled. "Close your eyes."
Juan did as he was told, and suddenly felt a strange energy blowing all around him.
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The staff stood over Juan's body, all of them looking upset. None were worse than Emily, who had buried her head into Eike's arm to continue crying.
While everyone was watching Emily, no one noticed that Juan's lips started twitching as he slowly opened his eyes halfway.
Juan quickly realized that Odessa was right about being in pain. He never knew that a sword wound could hurt so much. Still, he felt too weak to cry out in pain. Instead, he listened in on the conversation.
"I-It's all my fault!" Emily sobbed. "If I had just kept my eyes open, I would've seen that Mirage about to attack!"
"Emily, it's not your fault." Thomas insisted.
"Yes, it is!" Emily replied.
"...N-No, it's not..." A voice came from the bed.
Everyone's eyes sprang open. Even Eike's eyes widened slightly. They all turned to stare at the bed to see Juan, alive and barely awake.
"JUAN!!!" Emily cried as she pulled herself from Eike and rushed towards Juan again, throwing her arms around him, being careful not to hurt him even more. "YOU'RE ALRIGHT!!"
Although shocked, Thomas quickly turned to Sebastian. "Mr. Sebastian, go to the Inn and get the doctor!" He instructed. Ever since Tuta had left, the castle had gotten a permanent paramedic.
"A-At once!" Sebastian replied as he rushed out of the room with Muto behind him.
"I-I don't believe it!" Cecile said, staring at Juan. "We couldn't find any pulse or heartbeat!"
"You guys wouldn't believe me if I told you." Juan replied weakly. He quickly turned to Emily. "I don't want you blaming yourself over what happened. It's not your fault."
"But I can't help feeling guilty about it." Emily whimpered.
"Believe me, Emily." Juan soothed. "I saved you out of my own free will. You had no clue as to what was going to happen."
Juan looked up at the rest of the staff. "My whole ordeal made me think." He said. "I'm real sorry for not treating you guys with more respect, especially Eike and Jefferson. As soon as I get better, I'm hoping to change that."
"Well...Thank you, Juan." Eike said. "But what caused this...Change of heart?"
Juan smirked. "Let's just say that someone special helped me realize my mistakes." He turned to Emily. "Emily, I think I'll start with treating you better. After I get better, how does a date in Iksay sound?"
Emily stood in silence before a smile started to appear on her face. She suddenly threw her arms around Juan again.
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Seven years passed. The whole staff, minus Juan and Emily, were waiting outside the Infirmary.
Juan had stuck with his promise to treat everyone with more respect. Not only was he getting along with Eike, but he was also falling asleep far less often, leaving him open to help out.
During those years, Juan and Emily had married, and were about to have their first child. Thomas and Cecile had just become engaged, and were waiting for the perfect time to get married. Eike had mysteriously stayed looking exactly the same as he did seven years ago. Martha and Piccolo still hadn't retired from either of their professions, and were still as active as they always were. Other than that, not much else had changed.
Suddenly, the door to the Infirmary opened and a twenty-six year-old Juan stepped out, looking happy. He looked almost just like he did seven years ago, although he now had a blonde mustache to go with his hair.
"I-I'm a father!" Juan exclaimed. "I have a daughter!"
Everyone quickly congratulated Juan, giving him handshakes and other friendly gestures. Eike had even given Juan a good slap on the back to congratulate him.
"Can we see her?" Cecile asked excitedly.
Juan nodded as he led everyone back into the Infirmary. Everyone quickly saw Emily lying in a bed, holding a tiny, baby girl. Everyone quickly arrived at the bedside.
"She's real beautiful." Muto whispered.
"Thank you." Emily replied with a smile.
"What are you going to call her?" Jefferson asked.
Juan and Emily looked at each other, expecting the other to tell them the name.
"You tell them." Emily urged. "It was your idea."
Juan chuckled as he turned to the rest of the staff. "We've named her Odessa."
Everyone agreed that it was a good name, and continued to congratulate the new parents.
However, unknown to everyone, even Juan and Emily, fifteen years in the future, little Odessa would lead a new army to victory similar to that of the Fire Bringer war.
END
Author's notes: Eh, I know the Juan/Emily in this fic isn't as obvious, but at least it's there.
Sorry, but that's the whole fic. It's just a one-shot.
Please read and review!