Kyo stared in shock at his parents. How had this happened? He hadn't even noticed until now... he shook his head to clear it and took her hand.
"Can we do this without hurting them?" he asked, worried.
Akira jumped back from her. Her job was to distract her, nothing more at the moment.
"Didn't I just tell you?" she asked calmly. "What, are you going to try and stop me?" she had to keep reminding herself that she was doing this for Megumi. Even if he was just using her, it was worth it for Megumi. She loved him after all.
Kei growled and jumped forward, taking a swing at Akira.
"I'll stop you no matter what you plan to do," she hissed. "You traitorous bitch!"
Rei nodded.
"It we are very careful, we can save them without hurting them, but hurry!" she said. She grabbed Kyo's hand, preting with him in the instant that the possessed Hayate started towards them.
'Good.' Akira thought, dodging out of the way. 'I should be able to keep her busy here until Megumi's plan is finished.' she thought, parrying the next attack and returning with a swing of her own.
Kyo jumped back.
"This is the first i've actually preted with you. How does your weapon work?" he asked. he'd actually preted with her before- but it was during the time he'd forgotten.
"It's an axe. Giant axe," Rei said after a moment. "Just make sure the edge only comes in contact with the heart of the demon larva, or you might hurt your parents." She tried to sound assured. "But you can handle this. You're good at what you do," she added. "Don't worry." Meanwhile, Rin was worrying herself.
"Where's Kay-kay?" she asked Bubbles, dodging an attack and drawing Hayate away from Kyo as TItania and Snow harried Himeno.
Kay grabbed Akira's fist and launched a kick at the other girl's head, wanting nothing more than to hurt her badly.
"Why is she here?" Kay thought to herself, trying to reason some explanation out in her head.
Akira managed to avoid the main force of the kick, but she still ended up rolling several feet before getting back up. She smiled.
"Kay, you really should be careful. What will your temper do in the real world? you might kill someone again." it was a low shot- and she hated herself for saying it to her friend. But she had to keep Kay's attention on anything other than Kyo.
Bubbles shook her head.
"I don't know. She should be here."
Kyo was having a hell of a time fighting. He was terrified of hurting his parents on accident- and he kept having seriously close calls. It had been a while, but he was getting hit- or rather Rei was getting hit.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry." he kept repeating, every time she shielded him from an attack.
"It's fine," Rei gasped, recovering from the last hit. "Don't worry. Just help your parents. The core should be obvious with how the demon larvae are strapped to their chests, I think." Rei sounded rather unsure, but she wanted to help Kyo as much as she could.
"I would go get her if we had the spare moment, but this fight is hard," Rin huffed, shoving Himeno into the wall as Titania raced past her to fend Hayate off from strangling Ariel. "Also, is Akane here as well? I can't remember seeing her with us."
"She's here!" Snow called, as she fought alongside Akane.
Kay felt her momentum slowing.
"Low Akira, really low," she snarled. "And I will NEVER kill anyone again. Not after I'm finished killing you." She launched herself at Akira, her hands like claws as she pinned the other girl to the ground, launching a series of punches at the Knight of Sound's face.
Akira threw Kay back with a blast of sound, and flinched as she heard a crack as Kay hit the wall. The blonde girl slumped to the floor, clearly unconscious. Resisting the urge to go over to her to make sure that she was okay, Akira disappeared, going back to Megumi.
"Kay is unconscious. How is this battle going?" she asked. Megumi was watching closely as Kyo defeated first one, then the other of the two demon larvae.
"Dammit!" he growled, slamming a fist onto his throne. "That should have killed him without Kay there!"
Rei unpreted from Kyo, breathing heavily.
"I think something happened to Kay," she said hoarsely, waving away Kyo's protest about her injuries. "We need to figure out where she is." Kyo sighed and nodded, closing his eyes and focusing on a random thought about Kay, a memory from earlier in the day: her hair shining in the sunlight as she laughed and played tag with him and the others. Soon, he could feel her presence, but it was so very far away, as if she were on a different world.
"She's… She's not here on Earth," was all he could say, giving a helpless look to the others. Bubbles gave Rin a slightly scared look, then looked at Kyo.
"She might be in Leafeania. We should really go check…" Bubbles said softly. Rin nodded, and the two disappeared. Rei took Kyo's hand and disappeared with him into Leafeania, and found Rin and Bubbles kneeling down next to Kay. Kyo rushed over and picked her up off the floor, taking her to the couch, and sitting down with her head in his lap in order to inspect the wound. There was a bruise forming on her forehead, to the right side. A lump was also on the back of her head, and her feet were bleeding from glass shards that seemed to be embedded there.
"What happened?" Kyo asked in wonderment, seeing bruises on her fists as well. Ariel and Titania were already working on healing her, and slowly the wounds seemed to disappear. After a few moments, Kay sat straight up, looking about wildly.
"Akira!" she hissed, starting to stand, but being held down by Kyo. She blushed brightly as she realized her position.
"Kay, what happened? You need to stay laying down for a little bit," Kyo added as Kay started to protest. Frowning, Kay told them what had happened. Kyo, in turn, told Kay what had happened while she'd been fighting Akira.
"They must have wanted to keep me distracted…" Kay muttered. Kyo gave her a confused look as he finally let her sit up. "I would have helped you guys out a lot if I'd been there. You probably wouldn't have had as hard a time of it."
"Good job!" a velvety voice echoed. A black vortex appeared in the room, and Akira stepped out of it, along with Megumi. "You guessed my plan. But now, it's time for us to finally kill you." Akira didn't seem to be too happy about that pronouncement, but she nodded, and left back into the portal. "Meet us in my castle, and then you'll be able to fight me." Kay stood up, watching Megumi leave. The portal stayed where it was, and she turned to the others.
"We've got to go. I can tell that Akira isn't happy about this whole situation. And I know I'm not." She frowned, putting her hands on her hips as the others began to protest. "And I don't want to hear anything about me being weakened already. I'll fight with you whether you like it or not." Looking at Kyo, she noted that he was standing as well.
"We've got to go. I think we can make Megumi come back," he said. He was cheerful about it, instead of sober. "And then, everyone will be happy, including Akira." Kay smiled.
"Let's go," she said, holding a hand out to Kyo. He took it, and they preted. Rin and the others dashed through the portal. Kyo, however, hesitated. "What's wrong Kyo?" she asked, her voice echoing in his mind.
"I have a bad feeling about this," he said softly, answering her out loud. After admitting this, he went through the portal, whirling when he heard it closing behind him. "A very bad feeling." Running to catch up with the other Knights, he found that they were already engaged in battle with several demon larvae and transport demons. About to join in, Kyo was cut off, hearing a cry of pain from Kay as he was caught and flung against the wall by an uprising of dark energy. "Kay, are you alright?" he asked, his cheerfulness gone, replaced by a grim determination to bring Megumi and Akira back. He heard laughter behind him.
"Asking after her? Why would you do that? You only use her power for your own good, right?" Megumi asked in a condescending tone. Kyo drew himself upright and summoned the Mace of Light.
"Never. I would never use anyone," he said, and heard a grateful sigh from the back of his mind. Why did it make him feel good? He shrugged, and focused on the fight. Megumi wouldn't come back without a fight it seemed, and he intended to give it to him.
"Coward!" Akira shouted from behind Kyo, causing him to flinch. "Kay! You are a coward! You hide behind Kyo instead of facing me again in a fair fight!" Kyo was alarmed when his Pretear uniform began to shimmer. Soon, Kay stood beside him, her face dark with controlled anger and sadness. "Kay, we have to fight together in order to defeat Megumi," Kyo said quietly. Kay shook her head.
"I believe that you can defeat Megumi without me. I need to fight Akira." She smiled a little, ignoring the tears that streaked down her face from Akira's words, and Kyo felt his heart flutter. What was this feeling? "You'll do fine Kyo," she said, then stepped forward to fight against Akira. In her hand, a sword made of light appeared, and Akira summoned a black sword. Both launched into a furious battle that Kyo could not watch, so he turned back to Megumi. Kay screamed as she blocked an attack from Akira, and stared over the locked blades. "You're right Akira, I am a coward. But I've finally learned, and my lesson was from you. You've taught me. But now I'm here to bring you back. We all miss you Akira…" Kay's voice cracked as Akira kicked her in the stomach, and then attacked her again without giving Kay time to recover. Meanwhile, Kyo was speaking to Megumi.
"Megumi, I think we shouldn't let everything get out of hand," Kyo said amiably. He smiled, trying to catch the other man off guard. "I know that you are good, and I know that you want to come back. So why don't you just come back?" Megumi scowled and waved a hand, a demon larva coming into being right beside Kyo. It lashed out and threw him against the wall. This demon larva, however, was very, very different. It drove a tentacle towards Kyo, as if to spear him through, but Kay shoved him out of the way, getting speared instead. It went through her chest, and come out the back. She coughed, blood coming up. "Kay!" Kyo hadn't seen her shove Akira back so that she could run to Kyo. He pulled her away from the demon larva, which now turned on Megumi, now being out of his control. Kyo sank to the floor, holding Kay in his arms. "Why in the world would you do that?" he asked frantically. He had never seen death before, and this was scaring him, the way her form flickered and shimmered, seeming to break away in little bits. Kay smiled weakly, her eyes staring past him, as if she couldn't focus.
"It's because I love you silly…" she whispered. "I promised myself… That I wouldn't fall for another guy… Not after Daisuke… But you were different…" Coughing, she continued, despite Kyo's pleas for her to be quiet and save her strength. "Bring Akira back if you can… And don't worry… Maybe I'll see you when we are reborn…" The last of her strength left, and she fell limp in his arms. Despite his efforts to staunch the blood flow, she was dead. A few seconds later, her form crumbled into Leafe dust, sucked up by the demon larva that was now cornering Megumi. Akira had wordlessly fallen to her knees, horrified at what had happened to Kay. Seeing Megumi's predicament now, she ran, trying to prevent the same from happening to him. Kyo stared, unseeing, at his arms, his bloodstained hands, but at a howl of anguish from Megumi, he looked up, just in time to see Akira fade away as well. A bright light surrounded him, and Kyo was in the garb of the White Pretear: a white tux with a crystalline crown, a white ear clamp on his ear, and crystalline scepter in his hand. Megumi looked up, just in time to see the demon larva disintegrate from the overwhelming outpouring of Leafe that Kyo was giving. He had tears streaking down his face, and he seemed to be giving all of himself. The world faded to white shortly after, and no one was left in that dark zone. They all were transported safely to Earth, sleeping peacefully in a meadow. Kyo soon passed out, unable to give anymore, nearly dead from all that he had given.
Kay woke and stared at the sky, blinking in confusion.
"Did I die? I thought I did…" she said softly, and sat up, only to be tackled by Rin and Bubbles.
"Kay-kay! You're alive!" Rin squealed happily. Kay smiled and hugged the two.
"I guess I didn't die," she thought before looking over and seeing Megumi and Akira. Both were standing together, looking slightly unhappy, but happy at the same time. A bittersweet aura surrounded the couple. "Akira?" she asked, and Akira smiled, coming over to help Kay up and to give her a hug. "What in the world?" Kay was soon answered as she looked over her shoulder and say Kyo crumpled on the ground. "No…" she gasped, and ran over, falling to her knees beside him. "Not again, please not again…" Gently putting his head into her lap after trying to make him comfortable, she tried, and failed, to keep herself from crying. Her tears trailed down her cheeks to drip slowly onto Kyo's chest. Megumi made to step forward to comfort her, but Akira shook her hand, holding him back.
"This is something that Kay needs to bear on her own…" Akira said sadly. "I know it's harsh, but this is the first time that someone who actually loved her has died." Megumi nodded in understanding, but then blinked as he saw Kyo's hands moved. He nudged Akira, and she noticed as well, smiling a bit when she realized what it might mean. Soon, Kyo's eyes opened, but Kay didn't notice.
"Kay, why are you crying?" Kyo asked, his characteristic obliviousness to surroundings making his tone sound far more innocent than the situation intended. Kay gasped, her hands going to her face to rub the tears away. Choking back an angry retort, she instead leaned down and kissed him. He gave her a flustered look, then remembered what had happened. Scrambling up, he knelt in front of her, grabbing her arms gently, trying to make sure that this wasn't a dream. "You're alive!" he said, stating the obvious, as usual. Kay laughed a little, still trying to stop her tears from flowing, these tears of happiness.
"Yeah, I'm alive," she whispered, unable to comprehend what was happening. Kyo seemed to be overjoyed and struggling with something.
"I didn't realize it until you were gone back there…" he said softly, and Kay gave him a confused look. "You faded, right there in my arms, and I realized at that moment that I loved you. I don't know why it took me so long," he added sheepishly, looking into Kay's shocked face.
"You mean it?" she whispered, hesitant to believe that her wildest dreams had come true. Kyo nodded, and then leaned in to kiss her. For an instant, she was too stunned to kiss back, but then she kissed him back with all her heart. A few moments later, both pulled away from each other, flushed. A little bit of laughter and clapping made them instantly aware of their surroundings. Kyo blushed brighter and Kay seemed to go even redder than him, as the other Knights all cheered for them.
"Hey, no need for that," Kyo said, trying to get them to stop. Kay giggled after a few seconds, and just leaned in to kiss him again.
"We're alive and safe, and that's all that matters to me," she said when the kiss broke and Kyo gave her a stunned look. Giggling, she threw her arms around his neck, just happy that everyone was alive and back together in a group again. Kyo smiled and held her close, rather enjoying the fact that he could without her yelling at him.
