[A/N: Hey, sorry it's been a while! I'm out of town, staying on a college campus and participating in a four-week dance camp. I have almost no time to write or be online... and until today, FanFiction was blocked on the campus's wifi! :OOOO I have no idea why it's not blocked anymore, but I'm going to take advantage of it and give you a chapter. Here you go.]
"Rose Bell! Full Power!" Zoey yelled, directing the bell at Mark/Deep Blue. He was bathed in its pink light for one short moment, and then he shrugged it off, pelting her with a shower of blue energy.
It seemed like the fight was hopeless- there was no way they could beat him without hurting Mark's body, and they were getting seriously injured by Deep Blue's energy blasts.
Suddenly, the three Cyniclons appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the sky. Pai was a blur of movement as he barreled into Deep Blue, knocking him down. They rolled to a stop at the base of the water fountain, in the middle of the park.
"Don't hurt him!" Zoey couldn't help yelling. Sure, there was some bad guy in Mark's body, but it was still Mark! She couldn't let anything bad happen to him. If Mark got hurt, she felt like it would be her fault.
"I was right to seal you weaklings in that other dimension… but it would seem that I underestimated your resourcefulness," Deep Blue growled, spitting out a gob of blood. "I will not make that mistake again."
"Release the human's body at once," Pai demanded. "If you wish to engage us in combat, then do so in your own form."
"Fortunately for you, my true form does not yet have the strength to emerge… Otherwise, you would all be dead by now," Deep Blue said in a sinister tone. "I am disappointed in you, Pai. You were once my most trusted lieutenant."
"That was before your orders became unethical," Pai shot back. "Our mission's prerogative was to find a suitable environment for the Cyniclons; not to wipe out the citizens of an inhabited planet."
"You didn't seem to have a problem with my orders several weeks ago," Deep Blue mused darkly. "I wonder what may have changed since then. Ah, yes- the new Mew Mew." His attention shifted to Rosalyn, who was standing bravely with the other girls, even though her legs were trembling weakly, and she was in pain. "I knew you were weak, Pai; but I didn't think you were that weak. Kisshu and Taruto are merely boys playing a man's game, so I can see why they developed a fondness for using these disgusting human females as playthings. But you? This is a new low, Pai."
"I'm not just a boy," Kisshu mumbled to himself. "Taruto, yeah, but not me."
"I had a problem with your orders long before I even reached this planet," Pai said hotly, avoiding Rosalyn's gaze. "I simply did not act on them until now."
"Is that so? Then I suppose you wouldn't care if I did this," Deep Blue taunted. He flicked a lightning-fast bolt of energy directly at Rosalyn's heart, which effectively gave her a jolt of electrocution.
"Aaaaagh!" Rosalyn screamed, convulsing with the energy coursing through her veins. Horrified, Pai sent a whirling tornado of ice at Deep Blue, which blew his concentration and knocked him to the ground again.
"Rosalyn!" Bridget and Corina caught her before she collapsed. Groaning, Rosalyn leaned on them for support and glared angrily at Deep Blue.
"That's what I thought," Deep Blue said, smirking at Pai. He wiped some blood away from his lip and stood up. "It matters not. I will destroy you three deserters along with the filthy apes of this planet, and I will restore our people to their former glory. It's too bad you won't be there to see it."
Screeeech! Everyone turned in surprise to see Wesley's red car race onto the scene. Elliot vaulted out, holding an injection gun filled with a Blue Aqua formula.
"You think your puny weapons can take me down? Pitiful," Deep Blue laughed, shooting more blasts at the Mew Mews.
"Zoey! Get over here," Elliot shouted. She reluctantly left her friends, who were barely holding their own, and darted over to him.
"What do you want? They're getting creamed out there and I have to help them!"
"Don't you think I know that?" Elliot grunted, tapping his injection gun. "This should extract Deep Blue's spirit out of Mark's body, and Mark might lose consciousness, but he should be fine. It will basically evaporate Deep Blue completely. The only problem is that we have to get up close to inject it- and the force of the injection will take out anyone else who is in contact with the gun."
Zoey stared at him, realization dawning on her. "Elliot, you can't! You'll die!"
"Shut up and get him closer, so I can do what needs to be done," Elliot said curtly. Zoey opened her mouth, but Elliot interrupted her. "There's no time for argument. Just do what I say."
Tears started streaming down Zoey's face, but she nodded and turned around.
"Oh, and Zoey? …Don't tell Bridget," Elliot said softly. "And keep her safe."
Elliot moved towards his target like a convict walking towards the hangman's noose. Zoey was rallying the girls and making a stand by the fountain, taunting Deep Blue, and it seemed to be working. Kisshu and Taruto were still hanging back from the battle, helping neither side, but it almost looked as if they were about to jump into the fray.
Pai had landed beside Rosalyn, and, after making sure that she was all right, he'd flown back up to Deep Blue and started fighting him, making him drift towards the girls. They were almost close enough for Elliot to do the deed, but not quite.
Another wave of electric jolts from Pai's fans sent Deep Blue tumbling to the ground. Zoey's hands were on her mouth as she stared helplessly at Mark, and Elliot surged forward. Bridget let out a cry of despair: she guessed what was going to happen, even though Zoey didn't spill Elliot's secret.
Elliot surged forward towards him, while Deep Blue was facing away- but Pai knocked him to the ground, grabbed the gun, and pulled Deep Blue into the air by a fistful of his collar. His gaze met with Rosalyn's for a split second before the two rocketed up.
"…The hell is he doing?" Elliot wondered aloud. Bridget moved next to him and took his hand in hers.
"He's saving us all."
Pai shoved the needle directly into Mark's neck and pushed the trigger. The air was filled with a blinding white and blue explosion, and everyone shielded their eyes and ears. A blue vapor drifted into the air, and it sounded faintly like a man's voice, screaming. When it cleared, Mark was thrown backwards, rolling to a stop amid the trees. Pai was blasted towards the Mew Mews and landed, hard, near the park's fountain.
Everyone stood stock still… Except for Rosalyn. Her muscles felt like molasses as she raced over to Pai's unmoving body.
"You can't die," Rosalyn whispered, tears flowing ceaselessly down her cheeks. She fell to her knees and touched his hand. "Not like this. You can't..."
Renee drew the other girls aside, not wanting to interrupt their private moment. Pai had, after all was said and done, saved all six of their lives, at the cost of his own.
Rosalyn bit her lip and held Pai's body close in her arms, not even feeling the scrapes on her legs or the cut on her arm. "Please…I love you." She kissed him gently on the mouth, then on his forehead, cheeks, and hand. Rosalyn pressed his hand against her cheek and sobbed quietly, resting her head upon his chest.
She started to glow with an otherworldly light. Rosalyn shone with white and blue, and the other girls had to shield their eyes. As she cried, an orb of blue emanated from her heart and enveloped both her and Pai.
"Look! Is that- Blue Aqua?" Kiki whispered excitedly.
"I think so!" Zoey slowly realized she didn't know where Mark was, or what had happened to him. Frantically, she started looking around, but he was nowhere to be seen. Glancing apologetically at the other girls, she ran in the direction that Mark had fallen.
The remaining Mew Mews gasped as the orb glowed, and then burst into a shower of blue rain that cascaded down upon Rosalyn and Pai. When it all faded, Pai's chest started to rise and fall slowly. His eyes flickered open.
"Don't cry…" Pai's voice was hardly more than a whisper. "Your smile is beautiful."
"…You're alive!'" Rosalyn brought her face closer to his, weeping with happiness. "Oh, Pai…" She kissed him again, with more fervor. Pai's fingers entwined with hers, and he sighed into their kiss.
Bridget realized she was crying, too, even though she was smiling. She looked around and saw that Corina was also teary-eyed, and the others, including the guys, looked just as relieved and happy as she felt. Surprisingly, Kiki didn't have anything to say. She was just staring at Rosalyn and Pai with a dreamy expression.
The two came apart for a breath, and Rosalyn helped Pai stand to his feet.
"Do you know, that I… I have never said these words before, in all the years I have lived," Pai told her weakly. "But they are the only way to accurately describe how I feel about you. I… love you, too."
Rosalyn just threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. Pai winced, slightly in pain, but he hugged her back, tracing the outline of one of her wings with his finger.
"Hey, everyone!"
Everyone turned in surprise to see Zoey walking towards them, with Mark's arm slung across her shoulders. He seemed a little bruised, but otherwise in good health. "What happened?" he asked, confused. "I don't remember a thing…"
"Oh, Mark!" Zoey wrapped him in an embrace. "Everything's going to be okay now."