The Ski Championships had finally come. Memmosa stood at the foot of the Black Diamond Hill, where the race was going to happen. Her skis were clutched in her hands, her poles stabbed into the ground beside her. Behind her were the Arclights and Rei, all staring at her with hopeful and encouraging eyes. Memmosa didn't see one person, however, when she turned around.
She did not see Durbe anywhere.
Memmosa felt her eyes sadden at the memory of what had happened the previous night. She hadn't slept at all, so not only was she very stressed, but she was tired on top of that. It didn't matter. The pink-haired girl straightened up, her eyes instantly being eliminated of tears. They strode over and landed on Rei, staring at him intently as the other skiers began to arrive.
The first horn went off. Memmosa knew the drill. She slid her skis on, then grabbed the metal poles to hold her in place until the third horn. She adjusted her hat, then made sure her boots were tied tightly and gripped the poles a little tighter.
Now the second horn went off. The pink-haired girl glanced around, pushing her glasses up a little bit as she did. These people looked like they had just come from the gym, making her wonder why the heck they were here if they seemed to prefer working out.
Then again, it was none of her business.
Finally, the third horn went off. In an instant, Memmosa was off, leaving a trail of snow behind her. The other skiers were somewhat slow at starting off, but they managed to get going anyway. Memmosa glanced back, then smirked and went flying over the first jump.
Obstacle number one, out of the way.
Memmosa's eyes glanced over to see one of the taller skiers trying to pass her. She growled, then bent down in order to go a little faster. There she went, back in the lead, flying past the other skier and ramping off the second jump. In the air, Memmosa made sure to spin around a few times. The more tricks she did, the higher her score would be.
And she wanted to get the highest score her abilities would allow her. If she did that, it wouldn't matter whether she was first or not. They judged the race off of scores, ironically, not by places.
Memmosa went flying off the third jump, then spun around in a circle. She landed cleanly, then did another spin and continued soaring down the rest of the hill. The pink-haired girl turned and began twisting throughout the trees and rocks, trying to keep herself in first place.
Another rock that was in her way nearly stopped her from keeping that position. Memmosa growled and slid past it, but only barely. She jumped over the small tree in the way, then went sliding past more of the rocks. Then she went flying over the jump before her.
Back in the crowds, Amelia and the others were cheering like crazy. They all had their eyes glued on the screens that projected the skiers as they began to near the finish line. Rei smiled and jumped up happily, watching eagerly as Memmosa went gliding past the skiers that had managed to pass her.
Amelia glanced at Rei from the corner of her eye. He didn't seem to notice as he continued to watch the screens. The pink-haired woman couldn't help but feel pretty bad for what she had tried to do to him. Now that she knew he wasn't Vector, she felt very guilty about all she had done.
There was no easy was she could even say it though. It was just too much to speak of right now. She'd have to worry about it later. Right now, she wanted to worry about Memmosa.
All watched as Memmosa neared the finish line. They could see her smirking as she crossed it. Trey started cheering like crazy, as did Rei and Vetrix. Quattro and Quinton smiled. Amelia chuckled, then yelped when Trey jumped on her in happiness.
Though, something still didn't feel right. Amelia froze, realizing at once what that was.
Durbe wasn't there.
Well, he would've been proud.
There was silence for a moment. In a matter of seconds, Memmosa came running up the hill, skis tied to her back and poles clutched in one hand as she ran. In the other was the first place trophy. She had a very satisfied look on her face as she met up with the others, and she squealed when Rei pounced on her.
"You did it!" Rei yelled, shaking Memmosa by the shoulders. "You actually did it!"
"I know! I know!"
"Whoo-hoo! C'mon! Let's go celebrate!"
Memmosa was about to agree, but she froze. She blinked, then hung her head. Her bangs covered her eyes, making it look like she was under someone's control again. Finally, Memmosa looked up, her smokey-gray eyes pinned on Rei's violet ones.
"No. I can't. I can't celebrate if my dad isn't around to enjoy it with me. It just feels wrong that way."
Rei seemed to understand. He sighed, then nodded and pulled the girl into a hug. Memmosa smiled, then hugged him back twice as affectionately.
They separated, and Memmosa turned to face the rest of the Arclights. She snickered, then motioned with her hand. "C'mon," she said. "Let's go home."
XxXxXxXx
Hours had passed since Memmosa had successfully become the Ski Queen of 2014. She was still very happy about it, and she probably would always be. But she still was not satisfied 100%. And she knew the exact reason.
It was because her father couldn't be there to celebrate with her.
Memmosa now lay on the couch, on top of Rei as the two of them stared at the TV. Beside them sat Amelia, Trey and Quattro, while Quinton and Vetrix were sitting on the recliners.
"Stupid..."
Rei looked down and stared at Memmosa when she had muttered that word. He raised an eyebrow, then shook her to get her full attention. "What now?" he asked, concern in his violet eyes.
"It's nothing. Just the same thing that's been bugging me since yesterday."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Oh."
They just sat there in silence for a moment. Finally, Memmosa sighed and rolled over, tears streaming down her cheeks. All of them jolted up in fear when the doorbell was rung, however. All eyes were on the door, and it seemed that they were all wondering who would be there at that hour. But could you blame them? It was 10:30 at night.
"I got it," Memmosa said, getting up from her spot and unlocking the door. She pulled it open, then went bug-eyed. Rei glanced up, then yelped in shock.
Mizael stood at the door.
"Wha...what are you doing here?" Memmosa asked, staring intently at the blond outside. He simply smiled, then stepped aside. Now, everyone's eyes were on the the door. And they were all wide with shock at what they saw.
Durbe.
There was silence for a second. Finally, Amelia shrieked, then jolted from her spot and ran out the door, tackling the gray-haired Barian to the ground in a hug. Memmosa ran from her spot, a happy smile on her face. She turned and stared at Mizael with a curious look, then crossed her arms.
"How's it possible? What did you do?"
"Does it matter? I brought him back."
"I was only curious. You don't have to be so strange about it."
"Look, Memmosa, it's hard to explain. Just be glad he did this!" Durbe said, sitting from his spot on the porch and smiling up at her. The pink-haired girl smiled back, then jumped into the air, simply floating in it. She hung upside down for a time, then flipped all the way and floated in front of Mizael.
The blond said nothing. Rather, he vanished through a portal, making Memmosa laugh and drop to the floor. She turned to see if all the Arclights were still outside at the moment. They were.
Perfect.
Slowly, Memmosa strode over to Rei. She smiled, then threw her arms around him. The orange-haired blushed, not expecting this, and nearly yelped when Memmosa kissed him on the cheek. With a giggle, Memmosa vanished up to her room, then hopped onto the bed.
Finally. Durbe was okay. She had become the Ski Queen of 2014, just like she had dreamed, and had even managed to kill Vector so he could never disturb her or the others again.
Awesome, Memmosa thought. Life is finally perfect for me.
END
