A/N: Me and my evil cliffhangers. Guess it's time to get the battle underway. Thanks for the reviews! I'm doing my best to keep everyone in-character during these more dramatic scenes. And it's about time to reunite all the Mews. Plus, as you might've guessed, there's more to Piper's story than just jumping through a portal and crashing into Minto.
Destinies Intertwined
Chapter Seven: Too Much to Lose, Piper's Story
Keiichiro reached the computers ahead of the others and instantly began typing in codes to pinpoint the exact location of the signal. It was a bit more difficult than usual due to the alien technology which was still very much foreign to him. Soon the room was filled with Mews and Cyniclons awaiting news of the portal.
"Keiichiro," Ryou was beside the manager in a flash, blue eyes focused on the screen. "Do we know where the activity's centered?"
The brunet scientist furrowed his brow in concentration. "The frequency we're using to relay information between the Cyniclon ship and our base is a bit garbled. The level of activity appears to be causing the interference so it definitely has to be the Crisects."
"But where are they?" Kisshu stressed.
After punching in a few more commands Keiichiro was able to find the exact coordinates. "There," he announced, "at the Ōsaki Station, of the Yamanote Line."
"Yamanote Line?" Taruto repeated.
"It's the big railway line that circles around downtown Tokyo," Lettuce explained.
"And it's probably packed with people!" Minto exclaimed.
"We have the coordinates," Pai stepped forward, "it's time to move out."
In a massive surge of teleportation energy the three Mews and Cyniclons vanished, presumably to reappear at Ōsaki Station.
"Oh no!" Keiichiro's eyes widened behind the frames of his glasses.
"What is it, Keiichiro?" Ryou demanded. His own expression turned grave when he saw the increasing number of flashing red dots on the middle monitor.
"The Crisects have never launched an attack of this magnitude before." the brunet stated. "We've sent them into a war zone. At this rate downtown Tokyo will be swarming with Crisects in under twelve minutes."
Behind them two small figures stood motionless in the shadows.
"Mama Bird," Piper breathed out fearfully.
"Heicha doesn't like this, na no da." his companion fretted. "Those evil bug monsters are going to outnumber 'Nee-chan."
The blond beside her clenched his fist and stared ahead with eyes full of determination. "Not if we have anything to say about it!"
"Mew Mew Minto-"
"Mew Mew Lettuce-"
"Mew Mew Pudding-"
"-Metamorphosis!!!"
As soon as their transformations ended the girls rejoined the Cyniclons in their Mew Mew forms.
"Took you long enough," Tart snorted.
"Look over there!" Mew Minto pointed toward the screaming citizens as they rushed around in a panic. Each time the crowd took a new direction another portal would open and cut off their escape.
"We have to save them, na no da!"
Pai teleported himself between four of the Crisects and a group of cornered humans. Whipping out his fan he struck out at the aliens. "Fuu-Rai-Sen!"
A burst of wind and thunder collided with the Crisects and drove them back enough for the humans to get away.
"Hurry!" Pai turned to the dumbstruck people and jerked his fan toward the cleared path. "Quit quivering and RUN!"
The humans didn't need to be told twice (and Pai was not one to argue with no matter what your species). With a quick "thank you" from someone in the group they hastened around him and ran to safety.
All throughout the station more and more portals opened and made it harder to get the bystanders out of harm's way.
"There are so many of them!" Mew Lettuce gasped while fending off her opponent's pinchers with a meager barrier she was able to form with her castanets.
"These humans are all in the way!" Kisshu snapped as he lashed out at the two charging Crisects with his Dragon Swords.
"Well what did you expect?!" Mew Minto shouted, "They've got nowhere to run!"
Suddenly a yellow light flashed behind her followed by an excruciating pain!
"AAAHHH!!!"
"Minto!" Kisshu cut down the two lobster-bugs in front of him and flew to her aide.
"Minto onee-chan, na no da!" Mew Pudding screamed when she saw blood flowing out of the gash above her wings.
If Taruto hadn't been paying more attention to the battle the yellow Mew would've been the second victim of a Crisect sneak attack.
"Yaaah!" he sliced off the creature's pincher before it could stab its tip through the unsuspecting Mew.
"Taru-Taru!" Mew Pudding gasped when she noticed what had almost happened. "You saved Pudding again, no da!"
Angrily he spun around and shook a fist in her face. "Pay attention to the fight Monkey Girl! You can't let your guard down every time someone gets hurt! It's a battle!"
Mew Pudding flinched and went red with embarrassment. He was right, as a martial artist she should've known better. "Sorry, Taru-Taru."
"Don't apologize," he snapped, "FIGHT!"
"He's certainly got his head in the battle." Mew Minto joked through the pain as Kisshu helped her back to her feet.
Behind them a dead Crisect lay in a puddle of grayish-green goo.
"Ew," she made a grossed-out face when she saw some of the goo drip off the tip of the weapon in Kisshu's other hand.
"Don't be such a girl, birdie." the Cyniclon chided. "It's either them or us."
Sounds like the Cyniclon motto, the blue Mew thought cynically.
It took a few minutes longer before the last of the bystanders had fled the area. This allowed the team a chance to concentrate on driving back the Crisects.
"The portals just keep appearing!" Mew Lettuce called, her voice strained by exhaustion.
"We need to put the plan into action," Pai announced.
"Right," the porpoise Mew nodded and signaled to the others.
"Okay, that's the signal!" Kisshu yelled over the surrounding noise, "We've gotta buy them some time!"
"Heh, no problem!" Taruto levitated above the chaos and brought out his red click-clack weapon (childish yet effective). Spinning it around over his head he narrowed his golden orbs on the Crisects surrounding Mew Lettuce and Pai. "Ho-Rai-Den!"
"Pudding Ring Inferno!"
A wave of electricity coursed through the screeching bug monsters. When the crackling stopped their targets were relieved to see the enemy encased in giant pudding molds.
"Hmph, never thought I'd be glad to see that attack." Pai remarked.
"It's good to be on the same side for a change." Mew Lettuce smiled and helped him to arm the bomb. "We'll get much further by working together."
While the two were crossing wires Kisshu formed a glowing green orb between his hands. Mew Minto gasped when she realized what he was doing. "Kisshu! Stop!"
"Relax birdie," the green haired alien muttered as he brought out a small animal he'd captured while Tart and Pai were away from the ship and busy with the Mews. Sporting his old familiar grin he prepared to join it with the Predacyte. "This subspecies is designed to be short-lived. The bond will wear off in ten minutes or so."
With that said he held the two components above his head and merged them together. "FUSION!"
The merger resulted in a gigantic bat creature with long fangs and eerie blood red eyes. Mew Minto shivered at the sight. It reminded her too much of the killer vampire bats in old horror movies.
"Go Chimera Bat!" Kisshu ordered the beast and gestured toward the enemy below. "Attack!"
She had to hand it to him, as troublesome as the Chimera Animas had been in the past, this one was giving them a great edge over the Crisects. The Chimera Bat set to work on chomping and clawing the bug aliens to bits. Pieces of segmented limbs, pinchers, and rusty red exoskeletons lay strewn about the station.
"Ugh!" the bird Mew closed her eyes to shut out the carnage. Suddenly she was very glad she'd skipped lunch.
"It's ready," Mew Lettuce sighed happily once the device was fully armed. "Now all we have to do is get through one of those portals and activate the countdown."
Pai scanned the area for the nearest portal. "There."
Mew Lettuce looked where he pointed and saw a large swirling vortex that had just opened next to the turnstiles.
"Right," she picked up the device and got up to take it through the portal.
"Wait!" a hand shot out and grabbed her arm.
"What is it, Pai-san?" she asked in confusion. "We have to hurry. This could be our only chance."
For a brief moment he stared at her silently, as if cementing a crucial decision in his mind.
"It's too dangerous." He declared solemnly.
Her expression fell. "But-"
"I'll go."
The green Mew was speechless when he stood and took the device. P-Pai-san. She remained rooted to her spot while he walked past her toward the portal.
Why? Why was he doing this? The Earth wasn't his home world. So why did he insist on risking his life for it…for humans…for…
Green eyes widened and trembled.
…her.
He…he's doing this for me. Because…because he's afraid I'll get hurt.
"Pai-san!" Lettuce rushed over and threw her arms around him from behind. Burying her face against his back she wept openly. "Don't! I can't let you do this Pai-san! If anything goes wrong—you'd never come back!"
The lavender haired Cyniclon stood still with his back rigid while the distressed teen sobbed against him. He had been dreading this moment ever since their plan to construct the deadly device. Everyone knew what would have to be done, the risks involved, and yet they forced themselves to focus on achieving their goal. Someone would have to enter the portal and plant the bomb on the spacecraft. That someone had a very small window of escape time before the enemy ship was consumed by the massive explosion. And he had known, from the very beginning, that he could NOT let Lettuce be that someone.
"It's too late," he told her, trying to keep his voice as cold and even as he could. "I've already made up my mind."
Slowly he stepped out of her hold and turned so that they were facing each other. It pained him to see the wet trails of tears running down her cheeks. Those gentle green eyes staring back at him were so full of anguish and desperation that he swore he felt his own heart breaking too. But, as always, Pai stood firm in his resolve.
"Your people need you. Your teammates can't defend this planet alone. It's only logical that you should stay behind."
"What about YOUR people?! What about YOUR teammates?!" the porpoise Mew cried in frustration. "They need you too!"
I…need you too.
Pai shook his head. Lettuce was a smart girl. He wondered if she saw through his excuses to the real reason he wouldn't let her go. "They'll manage. As Cyniclons they have learned to survive in harsh conditions. And the one who plants this bomb needs to understand its workings and make adjustments quickly should anything go wrong. So you see, it has to be me."
Having said his final word on the subject he teleported from her view and reappeared directly in front of the portal. Pai glared into the churning black abyss that would lead him to his enemies' stronghold and (quite possibly) his demise. Drawing up every ounce of courage he possessed the Cyniclon clutched the device tightly and stepped into the unknown. The porpoise girl watched helplessly as he was swallowed by the darkness.
Even though they were still fighting the hoards of oversized insects (with a giant Chimera Bat flying around) his allies glanced over with anxious expressions. This was it!
"He's in!" Keiichiro announced excitedly. He and Ryou remained glued to the monitors at the base. They'd managed to tap into the security cameras at the station and had been watching the entire fight.
Silence.
…
CRACK!
"GNYUH!"
Pai came flying back through the portal so fast that Mew Lettuce had to dunk to avoid being hit. The eldest Cyniclon got the wind knocked out of him when he collided with the stone wall and hit the ground with a sickening thud.
"Pai-san! Pai-san!"
"He's out." the scientists frowned.
"Pai!!" the other Cyniclons shouted.
Mew Lettuce rushed over and dropped to her knees beside him. Gently she helped him sit up and rest his back against the wall. With a teary gasp she noticed the way his clothing had been ripped across the front. It left his upper torso exposed. The pale skin there was red and in some places already turning purple. No doubt he'd have some nasty bruises there tomorrow. In her mind she worried about the internal injuries he might've suffered.
"Pai!" Kisshu flew over and stared in shock at the damage. Something had KNOCKED Pai back through that portal. And that something was on its way OUT!
He turned to see that Taruto and the monkey Mew had hurried over to check on Pai's condition too. But the pigtailed Cyniclon couldn't have picked a worse place to stand.
Yellow eyes doubled in size when he heard the garbled hisses and clicks coming from behind his oblivious comrade. "TART!"
"Huh?" the brunet turned to see a hulking Crisect appear behind him with its pinchers raised to strike. He didn't have time to react. His muscles tensed. His mouth hung open in a startled scream. "YAAAH!"
"Taru-Taru!"
A streak of yellow stopped the pincher from hitting its mark.
"PUDDING!"
Tart's terror doubled when he saw Mew Pudding take the blow. She had reacted a split second sooner and dove into its path. The force of the impact sent her tumbling across the ground toward the railway map. She landed at its base with a fresh streak of blood leading over from where she'd first hit the ground.
Before her attacker could strike again the Chimera Bat swooped down and snatched it in its claws. That bug alien was history.
"Pudding…" Taruto reached out to her with a shaky hand. Sh-She can't be…not her…she's not…d-d-
"Ooohhh…" the rattled blonde moaned. "Cheap shot, na no da."
A relieved smile broke out across Tart's face. She's okay. He'd yell at her later for pulling such a dumb stunt. For now, he was just glad she was alive.
Back at the wall Pai groaned and tried to stand.
"Take it easy Pai," Kisshu coaxed, "don't be so stubborn. You got hit pretty bad."
Normally Pai would've smirked derisively and informed Kisshu that he had no room to talk, but this was no time for jokes. "The bomb," he winced, "we still need to plant the bomb."
Minto had hobbled over and slumped to the ground a short ways back. She felt completely useless with that gash across her back. Stupid Crisect! This will probably scar!
It was then that things went from bad to disastrous.
A new batch of portals opened, one right after the other, and Crisects poured out two or three to each. It was like watching the grand finale to a fireworks show. Only this time each random burst of energy released a new threat into the world.
"It's happening," Keiichiro declared. "If we don't stop them now the Crisects will wipe out the city in under an hour!"
Kisshu, Taruto, and Mew Lettuce took out their weapons. Each did their best to defend the injured Mew Minto, Mew Pudding and Pai during the onslaught. In seconds the entire station erupted into one hectic battle field.
CLANG!
"Hsssss!"
"YAAAH!"
"SCREECH!"
"Reborn Lettuce Rush!"
From her position slumped over on the ground Mew Minto spotted the forgotten bomb lying within arm's reach. Quickly she bent forward, ignoring the pain that shot out between her shoulder blades, and grabbed it. Blue eyes scanned the pandemonium around her and fell on the portal by the turnstiles. The same one Pai had tried to use before he was attacked. It's still open.
But…she knew it wouldn't be for long.
After glancing around to make sure everyone else was too busy fighting to notice her slip away she got down on all fours and crawled through the sea of segmented legs and fallen debris straight toward the vortex.
Just as she reached her destination a familiar voice called out, "Mama Bird!"
Kisshu whipped around to see her standing shakily by the swirling gateway. "MINTO!"
The blue Mew cast them an apologetic look over her shoulder, It has to be done, then vanished into the darkness.
She didn't see when Kisshu and Piper both zipped in behind her just before the portal closed for good.
Onboard the spacecraft Mew Minto found herself surrounded by the large lobster-bugs. It didn't take a genius like Pai to tell her that her odds of survival just went from slim—to none.
"Bye-bye Minto! Take good care of our friends!"
"I promise." she muttered under her breath as the creatures drew nearer from all sides.
"I've already lost one mom. I don't want it to happen again."
She held her ground and struggled to hide the tears welling up in her eyes.
"I'm not going anywhere Piper. So don't worry." Her words came back to haunt her. "No matter how many times the Earth is attacked, I'll always be there for you. You won't have to lose me like you lost your mom."
It was a stupid mistake. she chastised herself. I never should have made a promise—I knew I couldn't keep.
When all was said and done, when she was perfectly honest with herself, she knew it wasn't the desire to save the world that made her stay a Mew Mew. In the end, it was simply the need she felt to protect the ones she loved. My parents, Onii-sama, Miki, my friends, and now…Piper-chan.
She was inches away from becoming a bird girl shish kebab when she snapped out of her thoughts and leapt to the side. Landing next to the dent in the metallic floor she shot a defiant glare at her hissing attackers and activated the bomb in her hands. Instantly the digital clock began counting down from twenty-nine (seconds). It worked! With the press of a button she had sealed the fate of not only the Crisects…but herself.
It was bittersweet victory.
Piper-chan, I'm so sorry I-I broke my promise to you.
"Mama Bird!"
"Piper?"
The countdown was almost halfway over when Kisshu and Piper appeared behind her.
"You baka birdie!" Kisshu chastised her as he fought. "What did you think you were doing?! I've done some pretty reckless stuff in a fight but that was just suicidal!!"
Mew Minto ignored him; she was preoccupied switching between hugging and scolding the little Cyniclon.
"Piper! Why didn't you stay behind where it was safe?!"
"You mean in the middle of a bunch of killer aliens?" he asked.
The lorikeet girl smiled caustically, "No, I mean back at the base with Shirogane and Akasaka-san."
Kisshu was starting to tire. They were outnumbered and outmatched on the gigantic spaceship. Though the room they were in was dark with blue tinted metal where the dim light from the many holographic computer screens fell he could tell that it stretched out several meters across in a hexagonal shape with a door on each side. No doubt this was the room (or one of the rooms) where the Crisects generated their portals. He only hoped it was close enough to the ship's center so that the bomb would have the desired chain-reaction affect.
Not that I wanna be here to see it!
"Kid!" he shouted back to the blond locked in the bird Mew's hold as she shielded them with the small force field her bow could generate. "We're running out of time here. Get ready to teleport!"
Orange and blue eyes widened.
"I can't do that!" he argued. "I just barely made it across the city! How am I supposed to get all the way back to Earth?!"
"By combining your teleportation energy with mine!" the elder Cyniclon growled. "I know it's a long shot but if we don't try it we'll be blown to bits!"
The Crisect pushing against his crossed Dragon Swords let out a sound of surprise and backed off. Instantly all bug-eyes fell upon the bomb at Mew Minto's feet. Six seconds to go!
Piper bit his lip. "I dunno, it's gotta be light years away."
Five…
"Kid!"
Four…
"Cyniclons can't teleport that far!"
Three…
"You can do it, Piper-chan."
Two…
"But-"
One…
"NOW!"
"-grr…OKAY!"
Back at Ōsaki Station the others had managed to defeat the remaining Crisects—though just barely—and stood waiting anxiously for their comrades' return. Their energy was completely spent now. The girls had even reverted back to their regular human forms.
"Do you think they made it, na no da?"
"Tsch, of course they did." Taruto scoffed from where he'd knelt down beside her. "Kish is way too stubborn to go out as bug food."
"It looks like the Chimera Bat has diffused already." Lettuce pointed upward where the small creature fluttered about completely back to normal after its exotic lunch. "It's hard to believe it's only been ten minutes since all this started."
"We can only hope they managed to detonate the bomb before more Crisects escaped." Pai said solemnly as the weakened Predacyte floated down into his palm. In a tiny green flash it was gone.
And then, in a last second escape that was nothing short of miraculous, the space before them rippled with an unheard of amount of teleportation energy. They had gotten out just in time!
Even Pai's violet eyes widened in surprise when he saw the trio back, safe and sound. Wait…trio?!
"What—how did HE get aboard the ship?!"
"Hn, how do you think?" Kisshu panted and tossed a quick glance at the blond. "The little pest tailed me right through the portal."
"Hey!" Piper snapped, "This 'little pest' just saved your butt!"
Mew Minto sighed and leaned her full weight on Kisshu as her transformation faded away. "Please tell me we got them all."
"We defeated the last of the Crisects here." Pai informed them.
"And the people on our planet can handle any that got stranded there." Tart added confidently. Suddenly his ears tweaked. What was that?
Pudding caught a whiff of something too. Something…familiar?
Brown eyes widened in recognition. "Heicha!"
Both monkey Mew and pigtailed Cyniclon spun around to see the little blonde creep out from behind a partly charred potted plant. She waved to them shyly with a finger in her mouth. "Hi 'Nee-chan, Taru-Taru onii-chan, na no da."
Pudding was about to launch into a motherly lecture when her sister noticed the large diagonal cut along her side.
"AAH!" she gasped and immediately rushed over. "Pudding onee-chan, you got hurt, na no da!"
"Heh, that's cause she wasn't paying attention to the fight." Taruto remarked.
The little girl's features instantly distorted in a grumpy-like anger. "Onee-chan! That's bad! You know better than to let your guard down, na no da! What if something happened to you?!"
Everyone laughed while Pudding blushed and grinned sheepishly as Heicha went into a rant about how irresponsible it would've been for her to get killed in battle and leave herself and all her brothers alone and poor, wandering the streets. The girl had a flare for the dramatic, just like her big sister.
And so the allies returned to the café on a light note. Ryou congratulated them on their success while Keiichiro greeted them with a first aid kit and tray of freshly made tea.
Five minutes later they were gathered in the café's dining area. Lettuce blushed bright red while Pai gingerly wrapped her injured leg in bandages. It seemed no one had escaped the battle unscathed. Pudding giggled and struggled against Taruto while he protested against her wiping his face clean by licking the tip of her finger.
"Yuck! Get a rag, Monkey Girl!"
"But this works much better, Taru-Taru! Just hold still, na no da!"
"No way! Get off me!"
"Almost got it!"
"GAAAAHHH!!!"
Heicha giggled at their silly antics. Taruto put up as much a fuss over cleaning off smudges as her brothers did after an afternoon of wrestling in the dirt. Sensing a presence beside her she turned just in time to see Piper teleport over. "Piper-chan!"
The blond smirked deviously when Pudding swiped her finger across Tart's cheek. "Awww…aren't they cute together?"
Heicha laughed and pointed toward a table in the back of the room. "And speaking of cute, Minto onee-chan looks pretty cute with Kisshu onii-chan, na no da."
Piper puffed out his cheeks and frowned. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Kisshu float over and start teasing his guardian. Normally he would've been over there in a heartbeat to yell and attempt to drive the persistent flirt away. But…
He did seem pretty worried about Mama Bird when we were back on that ship. Maybe, he sighed, maybe he really does care about her?
"He could've died, no da." a soft spoken voice reminded him. Turning his attention back to Heicha he saw she was watching him with those big brown eyes that shone with understanding. Her hands were clasped behind her back as she innocently rocked forward.
"You all could've been gone for good when you went through that portal, no da. But, you went, and he went too. So—maybe that proves that he really does like her, na no da?"
The blond stayed silent. Was she a mind reader?
She just smiled sweetly and tilted her head. "Heicha was really worried too, no da. Because…she almost lost her friend."
Tangerine eyes softened and he suddenly felt very guilty for rushing off like that. "Heicha."
Unsure of what else to do he acted on impulse and wrapped his arms around the girl who stood there trying so hard not to drop her cheerful façade. "Don't worry," he told her, "everything's okay now. And you and me—we're gonna be friends forever."
"Really?" she asked him excitedly after breaking the hug.
"Heh, really." he promised. And this time his grin held nothing but happiness.
Across the room things were not so sweet and cutesy.
"I said stop hovering over my shoulder Kisshu!" the bird Mew snapped. "It's very annoying!"
She went to swat him away but flinched at a sudden stabbing pain in her arm. Glancing down she saw that one of the Crisect pinchers had managed to knick her forearm. The sight of another injury marring her otherwise flawless skin made her growl. Ballerinas were NOT supposed to look like they'd just run an obstacle course!
"Aw, does my little birdie have a boo-boo?" Kisshu crooned.
Minto started to slug him but he caught her arm in mid-swing and—surprisingly—lowered his lips to the scrape. Everyone watched in stunned silence as he kissed it softly then gently covered it with a band-aid. By the time he was finished Minto was blushing an even brighter red than Lettuce. Though out of embarrassment or something more no one could tell. But Kisshu's smirk spoke volumes as he floated beside her chair and beamed with pride at her reaction.
Heh, she definitely likes me. Nothing can spoil this now.
…or so he thought.
"Minto! Lettuce! Pudding!"
Everyone turned to the wide open double doors where Ichigo, Berry, Masaya, Tasuku, and Zakuro stood against a blindingly sunny background. The aliens froze while their old foes and the two newcomers gasped. Apparently they hadn't been informed of their return.
"I-Ichigo-san!" Lettuce exclaimed.
"Oh that's right," Pudding's murmur caught Minto's attention, "they were supposed to get back here today, na no da."
"W-What?!" the blue Mew sputtered. Brown eyes shot from Lettuce to Pudding who each gave her a sheepish shrug and guilty smile. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Ichigo's mouth drew back into a tight line. Fuming she marched over to Minto and jabbed a finger in her face. "Why didn't you tell ME?" she asked accusingly. "I've talked to you several times since we left for America and you never once mentioned anything about aliens or needing reinforcements!"
Suddenly Minto went on the defensive. "That's because we already had some!" she gestured toward Pai and Tart and then the third Cyniclon who stood silently behind her. "And we had everything under control!"
"Under control?!" Ichigo's hand itched to slap the girl as Minto had smacked her and others so many times before for being foolish. "The whole WORLD was at stake and you never even told me! I trusted you to look after everyone and keep me informed! I thought we were teammates Minto! I thought we were—friends."
Minto's anger melted away when she saw the hurt reflected back at her in Ichigo's eyes. The lorikeet girl hung her head and let her bangs hide her shamed expression. Now it didn't seem like such a good idea to have kept all that from Ichigo. Their leader had trusted her, her to be the one in charge during her absence. And now she felt like a traitor to that trust.
I've really messed up.
"Um…Ichigo-san?" Lettuce was about to speak up on Minto's behalf when the cat Mew turned on her heal and headed back out the door.
For a second it looked like Zakuro might not move out of her way. But at the last moment she stepped slightly to the side and let the distraught teen pass by. Sharp blue eyes stared after her, as if she understood the situation much clearer than either of the two.
"Ichigo!" Masaya ran after her leaving the dining area in an uncomfortable silence.
After all that…no one knew what to say.
She barely even noticed me. Kisshu noted sadly in his mind. Ichigo…
"S-So um…" Berry clenched a hand under her chin and attempted to end the awkwardness, "you're the aliens I've heard so much about?"
"The ones who created the Chimera Animas." Tasuku stated distrustfully and tightened his hold on her. His protectiveness of Berry told him to be wary of those three.
Sensing their welcome had just worn out Pai sat down his teacup and answered bluntly. "Yes, and it's time we left."
Lettuce switched her focus from Minto to the lavender haired Cyniclon. Suddenly her stomach churned with nervousness. "Pai-san, you're not going back to your planet already are you?"
He had to smile at the beseeching way she stared at him. "Not yet," he assured her, "we still have much to discuss and our own injuries to treat."
"You're welcome to use our first aid materials." Keiichiro offered. "I know it's probably a bit more primitive than what you're used to but it's effective nonetheless."
"No," Pai shook his head and added, "thank you," as an afterthought. "We have our own means of healing back on the ship. Our rejuvenation tank will speed up our bodies' healing processes much faster than antibiotics."
Keiichiro nodded in understanding. At least Pai wasn't trying to sound superior.
The three aliens took their leave, though Kisshu lagged behind a few seconds. His eyes never left the doorway where Ichigo had run out. Inside he felt a mixture of hurt, concern, and nostalgia. She doesn't love me. he repeatedly told himself. She never will.
But why? Why did it still have to hurt—so much?
"Ichigo…"
The word was whispered so softly that it would've been easy enough for anyone to miss. But Minto caught it, though she chose to show no sign that she had.
She knew without looking that he was staring after Ichigo, with that same longing gaze that he always wore after getting rejected. And in spite of everything she'd begun to let herself believe about the green haired Cyniclon and the bond they'd been forming, she realized that the cold hard truth of the matter was…
Nothing's changed.
Ryou watched Kisshu teleport away and saw that it was only then that she let the tears stream down her cheeks. He continued to watch her sympathetically. He knew from experience, it was hard to see the person you cared about pining after someone else.
At the doorway Berry and Tasuku let out a sigh of relief. Now that the creepy aliens were gone they could relax and unwind after spending over half their summer break fighting Chimera Animas and then racing back to stop a space monster invasion.
"We really should study abroad next year." the hybrid Mew told her boyfriend.
"It'd be a nice vacation from all this weirdness." Tasuku smiled in agreement.
Zakuro waited until the lovebirds were gone before turning back to the others. She stood with her arms folded and one leg crossed over her other boot. "So," she nodded toward the unfamiliar blond sitting at one of the smaller tables with Heicha, "who's the kid?"
Lettuce looked over to Minto but found the bird Mew was in no mood to give an explanation. With a drawn out sigh she met Zakuro's expectant gaze and gave her the whole story.
The next day relations between Minto and Ichigo hadn't improved much. In fact, they hadn't spoken to each other at all. Their lack of communication and negative emotions drove a wedge into the team. So the others all agreed it was time to do something to fix the situation.
With the defeat of the Crisects and all the Chimera Animas taken care of overseas the café had reopened its doors to the public. They now had a dining room full of chattering customers all looking to have their sweet tooth satisfied by one of the chef's famous pastries. Berry and Tasuku were off making deliveries when Ryou gathered the girls together in the kitchen (save for Ichigo and Minto) and told them it was time to set their plan into action.
"Pudding, go to Minto, as discreetly as you can, and tell her I want to see everyone down in the basement right away."
"Okay Onii-chan, na no da!" the monkey Mew saluted and skipped off with an empty tray and order pad.
"Lettuce, I want you to go get Ichigo and tell her the same thing. Got it?"
"Y-Yes," the green haired waitress gave a nervous bow and hastened back out the kitchen doors.
That left Zakuro and Ryou standing alone in the kitchen while Keiichiro worked the floor, offering the customers samples of the daily special and pouring on the charm.
The purple Mew turned to him with a skeptical look. "Do you really think this will work?"
"Who knows?" he shrugged. "But we've got to do something. We can't afford to have the team fall apart because of a few misconceptions and ill-kept secrets."
"Very well," Zakuro turned and placed a hand on the door, "you are the leader of this project and I know you have our best interests at heart. So I will trust your decision."
"Thanks."
Two minutes later Ichigo hustled down the stairs and through the basement door. She skidded to a stop when she saw that the only other person there was-
"Minto?!"
The ebony haired girl looked over from where she'd been leaning against one of the counters. When she caught sight of Ichigo she instantly jerked her head in the opposite direction.
"What's going on?" the cat Mew demanded.
"How should I know?" came the flippant reply.
An awkward silence followed and lasted up until Ryou walked in and stood before them. He assumed his usual posture, hands behind him, back straight, and blue eyes staring straight ahead in a no-nonsense fashion.
"Shirogane!" Ichigo started in on him immediately. "What's the big idea, huh? Where's everyone else? I thought this was supposed to be a team meeting!"
The blond cleared his throat and waited until he had their full attention. "This," he informed them, "is an intervention."
"Huh??"
Both girls stared at him with puzzled expressions.
"Intervention??"
"Yes." he nodded, his tone dead serious. "The two of you are teammates and friends. And if the Tokyo Mew Mew are to continue to work together as one then we can't have any rifts between its members."
The girls watched as he started walking back out of the room, explaining as he went. "Whatever your differences are it's best that you settle them now and clear the air."
"So," he smirked mischievously with one foot out the door, "I'm locking you down here until you make up."
Ichigo and Minto started to object and rush out but he slammed the door in their faces.
"It's locked!" the redhead exclaimed as she tugged on the handle.
"Well that's just great!" Minto huffed sarcastically.
They began to argue, totally unaware of how their heated emotions caused their energy levels to increase.
"Well you shouldn't have kept it a secret from me!" Ichigo shouted. She was so furious she didn't even notice that her aura now glowed a visible pink.
Across from her Minto emitted a blue glow of her own. "I told you we could handle it and we did! It was your job to defeat the Chimera Animas!"
All around them computer monitors began to crack and sparks shot out from the machinery. The power they gave off was just too much for the equipment to handle.
Upstairs the other girls went about their business, waiting on customers and clearing off the empty tables.
"I wonder how things are going between Ichigo-san and Minto-san." Lettuce took a moment to stop and wipe her brow. They certainly had been busy today.
She was slightly startled when Ryou appeared behind her. "Hopefully they're almost done resolving their differences. We could use the extra help."
The girls giggled. He looked so uncomfortable in that apron.
"Aoyama onii-chan should be back from his family outing soon, na no da." Pudding announced happily. "Then you can both assist Pudding in her lunch time performance!"
Ryou looked anything but thrilled about the idea. Between Pudding and Lettuce he could easily go into debt replacing broken dishes.
Suddenly an alarm sounded. A chorus of startled gasps and panicked screams rose up around them as the customers tried to figure out what was going on.
"Everyone!" Keiichiro rushed into the center of the madness and held up his arms. "We apologize for the inconvenience but we have a small fire in our kitchen. For your safety we ask that you all file out in an orderly manner while we get the situation under control."
The brunet had a good cover story for almost any situation and his take-charge attitude served to calm the customers down enough so that everyone cleared out without a lot of fuss.
"Let's go," Zakuro jerked her head in the direction of the basement.
Lettuce and Pudding were the first to head out; even up at the top of the stairway they could hear their two friends bickering inside the lab.
"What did you do NOW?!" Minto demanded.
"I didn't do anything!" Ichigo declared. "Whatever just happened had to be YOUR fault!"
"Don't try to pin your mistakes on me!" the bird Mew snapped. "I'm sick of covering for you!"
Ichigo's face reddened. "And what's that supposed to mean?!"
"Hmph, exactly what I said." Minto stuck up her nose and turned her back toward the cat Mew.
"Ooooh…" Ichigo seethed. "Minto! You're such a mean SNOB!"
The insult succeeded in ruffling the lorikeet girl's feathers. She whirled around and yelled indignantly. "SNOB?! Who are you calling a 'snob' you…you…VULGAR COMMONER!"
"SNOB!"
"COMMONER!"
"SNOB!"
"COMMONER!"
They were so busy fighting that they didn't hear Lettuce and the others outside banging on the door. Then, they were interrupted by a loud explosion.
BOOM!
When Ryou finally managed to shove his way to the front and unlock the door the others behind him were hit with a blast from the malfunctioning equipment. Lettuce and Pudding were standing the closest to the doorway and wound up with their bandages torn off by flying pieces of metal machinery and shards of broken glass. Ryou had been pinned behind the door when it was nearly torn off its hinges.
While Zakuro helped the two injured Mews back to their feet he pushed the door away and rushed inside. There he found Ichigo bent over Minto with her features deeply etched in worry.
"Minto? MINTO?!"
The pink Mew shook her friend's shoulders and repeatedly called out but received no response. Minto lay with her back flat on the floor. Her waitress uniform was smudged and torn from the blast (as was Ichigo's) and the buns in her hair had come loose.
Ryou ran over and dropped down beside them. He quickly checked her over and smiled in relief to find that she was merely knocked out. "It's okay," he told the distressed redhead, "she'll be fine."
Minto came to and saw Ichigo smiling down at her. The cat Mew laughed and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Suddenly our argument seems so petty. Right Mint?"
The blue Mew returned her friend's smile and agreed. Ryou grinned and watched them hug. "I'm glad you're friends again."
They both smiled back at him.
"Um…Shirogane?" Ichigo began in a soft, timid voice. "Thank you for forcing Minto and I to work out our differences."
Ryou was about to comment but she cut him off.
"But-"
Both Mews shot him menacing grins.
"-if you EVER try something like that again-" the bird Mew added.
"-we'll kick your butt!" Ichigo finished.
Ryou sweat dropped and promised no more isolation tactics. I'll never get used to these girls and their mood swings.
A few days later…
The girls returned to work, dreading the end of summer 'vacation', and happy to have things back to normal with everyone on good terms again. They hadn't heard anything else from the Cyniclons, though Ryou and Keiichiro assured them that their spaceship still hovered just outside of Earth's atmosphere. What was taking them so long to check back in with them was anybody's guess.
Meanwhile Piper and Heicha had become regular fixtures at the café. Ryou had even muttered something about the place turning into a daycare center with all the kids around. However, he remained lenient about it for the sake of his employees. Minto still couldn't think of a way to explain Piper's presence to her Nana or parents (not that she saw them that often) and Pudding enjoyed how happy it made her little sister to spend the summer playing with her new friend. The Cyniclon really had a way of making the bashful girl come out of her shell—even if they were usually arguing over the placement of dominoes or rules to a game. Ryou had even taken extra measures (at Minto's insistence) to get Piper enrolled in elementary school. Heicha had been thrilled at the news that she and Piper would be classmates.
After checking into the problem Keiichiro announced that the explosion had been caused by an extension of Ichigo and Minto's powers which overloaded the systems. Thankfully, though a lot of the equipment had been damaged (and much of it needed to be replaced), no crucial information had been lost. What wasn't contained in the back-up files had already been committed to memory. Masha had been found under some debris in the far corner where he'd been keeping an eye on the two as they argued but his damages were easily repaired. All-in-all it wasn't such a major inconvenience, especially when you considered the amount of damage the Cyniclons had done the first time they'd raided the building.
Now, inside the café, a solitary figure sat sipping tea at a table in the corner. It was after closing time and the other girls had all gone home for the day. Zakuro preferred to linger behind and enjoy a quiet moment to herself. It wasn't often that she got to indulge in such liberties. Her busy schedule kept her rushing to photo shoots, script rehearsals, and autograph signings when she wasn't working as a waitress with the other Mews or off saving the world.
Her quiet relaxation was short-lived however when she felt a sudden tug on her sleeve. "Hm?"
Looking down she saw a pair of orange eyes gazing up at her questioningly. It's that alien kid Minto's taken in—Piper. What's he still doing here?
"Yes?"
"Are you Zakuro-san? Mama Bir—err, I mean—Minto's 'onee-sama'?" he asked straight out and jabbed a finger up at her.
Zakuro sighed and propped her cheek against her hand. "Yes, that is what she likes to call me."
"Then you must know more about her than anyone else." he guessed.
The wolf Mew arched an eyebrow at the bold little Cyniclon. "You assume I'm the top authority on Minto?"
"That's right," he nodded eagerly, "and I have a favor to ask you."
"A favor?" curiosity quickly won over, "Alright, what's this favor you want?"
Clasping his hands behind his back Piper lowered his head in embarrassment. "I um..."
Zakuro watched him fidget a minute, dragging his foot along the tile floor in front of him before prompting him to speak. "Well? Go on."
"...um..."
"What is it??"
"Would you examine the gift I've made for Mama Bird and tell me what you think?!" he blurted out, squeezing his downcast eyes shut in fear of rejection or humiliation.
A look of surprise crossed her features before she caught herself and resumed her act of indifference. "Is that all then? You want me to inspect your gift to Minto and give you my opinion?"
"Mm-hmm," he nodded quickly, "I want to make sure it's something that she'll like."
"And what made you decide to give her a present in the first place?" again, curiosity.
"Be-Because," he swallowed and opened his eyes, "she's given me so much already. I-I just want to do something nice to pay her back. So I thought I'd make a present, but she's got so much already, I wasn't sure if she'd like what I've made. P-Plus she's been kinda down lately. Maybe it'll help cheer her up?"
This kid's too cute. Zakuro mused while staring down at the nervous little blond. "Alright then," she declared, mind made up, "I'll do this for you."
He smiled in relief.
"If-"
His smile instantly fell.
"-you do something for me first."
"Like what?" he asked timidly. Zakuro could be pretty scary when she wanted to be, especially with such a dead serious expression.
"I want to know more about you. What your life was like before you came here." she stated frankly. "I know how you arrived by accident and Minto's informed me of how you came to stay with her at her home. But in spite of all that, I know nothing of you personally."
Poor little Piper was sweating bullets now. "W-Why would you want to know all that about me?"
"Because you are part of the team now." she replied, "And I believe in knowing my teammates. Your origins are still very much a mystery to me."
Like she's got any room to talk about mystique. He thought defensively. Still, he wanted an opinion on his gift to Minto, and Zakuro's was the top one in that category. At least that was the common consensus anyway. "Fine." he agreed. "It's a deal."
The azure eyed woman afforded him a small smile as they shook hands on it. Piper flopped down on the floor with his legs curved flat in a circle while Zakuro sat her teacup down and turned round in her chair to give him her full attention as he began his tale.
"My mom and I lived in one of the underground shelters back before the others arrived with the Mew Aqua and fixed the climate. The shelters were basically these big communities of steel and stone where a lot of us stayed crammed in primitive houses with little food or water to keep us alive. Times were tough and what little resources we had kept stretching thinner and thinner." he made hand gestures to emphasize his points. "Soon we knew there'd be nothing left for us to live on. A lot of people wound up going without. Mom...Mom was always making sacrifices for me."
Zakuro's eyes softened as the little Cyniclon went on.
"She always insisted on using whatever cloth we managed to gather to make me new clothes or blankets. And when the rations got low she often gave me hers too, saying she just wasn't hungry. But...but I could tell it was a lie. She was getting really thin. Her bones started to show and her cheeks looked sunk in. But she still insisted that everything was fine. She even gave me this-" he held out his ocarina for her to examine, "-it was something Dad made for me. He died a little while after I was born. He'd been hurt really bad while working on expanding the shelter. So when I was four, Mom gave me this, and told me about what a great guy he'd been. How much he loved us and wouldn't have wanted us to lose hope."
"Hope is very important," Zakuro nodded. "Without hope, we are all surely lost."
Piper's head remained hung low. It was obvious he was having a difficult time retelling his story. Though serious, Zakuro had made her comment to give him a moment to recover his composure.
"I learned to play it on my own," he murmured, turning the polished wooden object over in his hands like a precious gem. "Mom was so happy. She was always smiling at me, but she seemed to smile brighter whenever I'd play. It was like the melody was sweeping away our worries. We both agreed that Dad couldn't have left us a better gift behind. But..." orange eyes began to swell with tears as he choked back a sob, "B-But then..."
The lavender haired woman reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. Her small attempt at comfort appeared to have the right effect. After another moment's pause Piper managed to suppress his sniffles and press on.
"All the stress of raising me on her own, making all those sacrifices so I wouldn't have to go without—it finally caught up to her." there was a hint of self-loathing in his voice that shot a somber pain through her chest. "Mom got so weak, but she just kept going, 'til she finally pushed herself too hard. I tried to get her to relax, to let me handle things. But she said it was her responsibility, I was her responsibility. And she wouldn't stop working and giving up way too much food. So when she died..."
"...you were left all alone." the wolf Mew finished and he confirmed it with a nod.
Tears ran freely down his face, pooling between his legs as he sat sprawled out on the floor. It was a pitiful sight that could wrench any heart. And Zakuro had always had a soft spot for children. Just ask Kisshu.
"Was there nowhere else you could go? No one you could turn to for help?"
"No," came the small voice, "everyone was too busy with their own families, their own problems. We were all struggling to survive. So I stayed underfoot and overlooked like a lot of the orphaned kids."
"Then, how did you survive?"
"By fending for myself." her eyes widened at his response. "It was hard, but I managed to scavenge enough to survive until the others arrived with the Mew Aqua."
"And when conditions improved, what did you do then?"
"I kept to what I knew best. Looking out for myself and leaving everyone else to their own business. There was a lot of renovation going on, once we could safely live above ground and grow our crops in fertile fields." From the way he talked it was obvious that he was just repeating a lot of what he'd overheard the adults say.
The frown deepened on her face, "You weren't lonely on your own?"
"Eh," he shrugged and glared at the ground, "no one wanted me when I lost my mom. Why should I go running to them just because Mew Aqua made things more convenient for everybody? It was too late to care."
Shaking her head Zakuro realized she could sympathize with the child. It must have been terrible for him. To go on for so long watching his mother struggle and endure many hardships on his behalf, and then suddenly he'd found himself alone without a friend in the world. "You never had any friends then?"
"No," Piper pulled his feet in closer in a show of self-protection, the matter was becoming harder to discuss. He didn't want to be pitied, or reminded of how alone he'd felt back then. "Like I said, I was looking out for myself. I didn't have time to make friends. And no one had time for me."
"How sad," the words left her mouth without her realizing she'd spoken aloud.
Piper lifted his eyes to find her watching him remorsefully. For once even the stoic wolf Mew looked ready to cry.
"It's okay," he offered her a meek smile, "things are better now. Since I've stumbled into your world and come to live with Mama Bird I'm happy again. She—wants me around."
"And loves you very much." Zakuro smiled sincerely. "And you love her too. I can tell."
The little Cyniclon just blushed, grabbed hold of his ankles and began to rock back and forth.
After a while he tried to put his feelings to words. "She's...she's a lot like my mom was. And she's a lot different too. But I like it that way. How they're alike but not quite the same. Now I feel like I have two moms, instead of replacing one."
"So you can be her 'Baby Bird' without feeling any guilt," the Mew beamed understandingly. It was a lot like the situation with Pudding and the kindergarten teacher. And as far as Zakuro could see, the bond was compassionate and strong.
"Right!" Piper perked up, glad to have that off his chest. "Now it's your turn to ante up!"
Zakuro looked taken aback for a moment before realizing what he meant. She'd promised to look at his present to Minto and give him her honest opinion of how well she'd like it. "Alright, let's have a look."
Reaching into his inner shirt pocket he pulled out a few rolled up sheets of paper and presented them to her. "This is the song I wrote for Mama Bird. Heicha helped me with the lyrics, heh. I'm better at the music part. Mom always used to come up with the words."
She accepted the sheet music gingerly and skimmed over the melody and lyrics scribbled under each row of notes. A few minutes later she was smiling warmly at the gift. "I think," she replied, returning the papers to an anxious looking Cyniclon, "she will like this very much."
"Really?!" all the tension melted from his face as he broke into his brightest grin yet.
"I know so." she chuckled, "Minto will cherish this song forever. It's the perfect gift for the girl who has everything."
"Phew," still grinning broadly he wiped the back of his hand across his forehead and rolled back off his haunches, "that's a relief! I would've had to tell Heicha we needed to start over again. Thanks Zakuro-san!"
In the blink of an eye he'd jumped to his feet, threw his arms around her neck in a grateful hug, and spun around on his heel, disappearing through the door. Zakuro waved after him, smiling more than she normally allowed herself to. Sweet kid. Hard to believe someone that kind's led such a troubled life. Still, it looks like he and Minto are exactly what the other needs.
To be continued…
