CHAPTER TEN: LULLABY
Jinja straightened her black leather trousers for a last time.
"Do I look good?" she asked
"You look perfect, as always" Leo confirmed her and kissed her gently
They were standing in front of a huge metallic door. Jinja was ready to meet Leo's parents, but she just couldn't get Dax out of her mind.
Leo opened the door and a huge room appeared in front of them. The room had brick walls, marble linings inside, amazing mosaics made up of tiny cubes of black and red colored glass and massive marble pillars. Of all its fascinating features though, perhaps the most remarkable was a large screen- it looked like a mirror with a red crystal frame.
Jinja was staring with awe. "Wow. Your parents have a strange taste in decoration. So, when do I meet them?"
A deep familiar voice was heard from the corner of the room "Oh, you don't"
Jinja saw a dark shadow walking towards her.
"Klipse?"
"Nice to meet you again, Jinja"
"How…how did you find me?"
"Your friend over here was very cooperative" Klipse said and pointed at Leo
"Leo? You knew about this? I can't believe it! You're a betrayal!" Jinja cried
She reached for her core.
"Hargrave, now!" Klipse commanded. His sick-pale skinned butler pulled a rope with his left robot-hand. Jinja was trapped in a net and she dropped her core.
"What are you doing?" Jinja screamed "Let me go!"
She pulled the strings with all her power but she couldn't release herself. She looked at the walls. Maybe if she found anything sharp on them she could cut the net, like she did when Dom Pyro trapped her and the rest of the group. Just then she heard a loud clash at the door.
"Change of plans, evil freak!"
She could recognize that accent from everywhere.
"Dax! You're here!" Jinja cried gratefully "Help me!"
"Hang on Princess!" Dax said as he saw Leo heading towards him
"If you want to save her, you've got to pass from me, first" Leo said with all the confidence he had
Dax looked at him and raised his shoulders "Okay"
Then, he raised his fist and punched Leo with all his power. He grinned widely "I SO loved doing that!"
"Prince charming is here to rescue the girl?" Klipse said and laughed evilly.
"Here's the deal, Doctor. If I win I'll get Jinja and leave. If you win you can turn me into a half-Monsuno with your toxic acid and you'll leave her alone forever"
Jinja was shocked "Dax? Are you out of your mind?"
Klipse looked skeptical.
"Sir, I know you wanted the girl for your second experiment, but the boy would be great too. He opened the door with a single kick. If he is that strong, imagine how he could be as a Monsuno!" Hargrave advised his master
"Hmm…" Klipse murmured "Yes…I guess you're right…"
"Deal?" Dax asked
"Deal!" Klipse said with a sure smile formed on his face
Dax reached for a core and so did Klipse
"Boost, launch!"
"Backslash, launch!"
The two cores touched each other and a mix of red and blue flames lightened the room. Leo was starting to regain consciousness, but he was standing speechless in front of the two creatures.
"Backslash, Shock Shriek!"
"Boost, Tracer Assault!"
For the next few minutes Backslash was sending powerful attacks to Boost, and Boost with his high speed avoided it. Both Monsunos were losing power.
"Hargrave, what are you looking at, you fool? Help me!" Klipse snarled
"Yes, sir. Shadowhornet, launch!"
"Hey, that's not fair!" Dax claimed "Airswitch, launch!"
"Shadowhornet, Evil Extension!"
"Airswitch, distract Shadowhornet!"
The bird-like Monsuno wrapped his arms and feet around Shadowhornet's body
"Now Boost, Turbo Strike!"
Boost's attack was so strong that Shadowhornet went back to his core. Dax was smiling for his smart plan. Meanwhile Jinja was trying to find a way out. She was about to give up when she remembered that she kept a rasp in her boot. It was very small and thin but she would manage to free herself in a few minutes. Klipse was groaning from anger.
"That's enough!" he shouted "Backslash, destroy the boy!"
Backslash run to Dax and threw him to the ground. Dax was trying to pull the Monsuno away. It raised its hand and gave Dax a serious cut on his chest.
"No!" Jinja cried desperately
Klipse was laughing evilly. He ordered Backslash to return to his core, his time was up anyway.
Dax's Monsunos returned to their cores as well, their time ran out too.
At the exact moment, Jinja managed to cut the net. She fell on the ground with her head, which made her bleed. She picked up her core and shouted
"Charger, launch!"
Her Monsuno sensed that its master was upset, and it was ready for a fight. However, neither Klipse of Hargrave could launch their Monsunos. Before they could try to catch another core, Charger raised Klipse, Hargrave and Leo with its horns and stuck them on the wall.
"Hargrave, use your rotten robotic hands and do something!" Klipse commanded
"I'm sorry sir but both of them are broken" Hargrave replied
"I can't breathe!" Leo cried
Jinja's body was on fire. She was ready to command Charger to push them harder against the wall, when she remembered what Beyal had told her one day. 'It's easy to get revenge, but it's harder to forgive'. Millions of questions filled her head: What is the point in doing that? Why should I become a monster like them?
She took a deep breath and looked at the ground
"Charger, let them go"
The three of them fell on the floor, weak, trying to catch their breaths.
"Now listen to me. Get out of here now or else I'm gonna tell Charger to rip you to pieces. Did you understand?"
They nodded furiously and left headquarters as fast as they could. Jinja ran to injured Dax.
"Dax, are you ok?" Jinja asked and held her breath.
"I'm fine Princess…" Dax shrugged
"Just stay here, OK?"
Jinja ran to the corner of the HQ, where it seemed to be Klipse's office and searched for something that would stop the bleeding on Dax's chest.
"Files, files, files…" she muttered to herself as she threw away packs of papers
"A first-aid kit!" she cried happily.
In the first-aid kid there were some bandages, cotton and alcohol. She took some cotton and applied alcohol on it.
She sat next to Dax and started rubbing it on his wound
"OUCH!" Dax cried
"You're such a big baby" Jinja mocked and started blowing over the wound to decrease tingling
Although Jinja tried her best to heal Dax's chest, the alcohol didn't seem to have much effect on his body. She knew that these could be Dax's last minutes.
"Dax, you'll be fine, just sleep."
"I can't, I'm…I'm…afraid"
Jinja was now terrified. The fact that Dax had just said something like this made her worries grow up.
"Princess?"
"Yes, Dax?"
"When I was young, my mum used to sing to me to help me sleep."
"Do you remember your mum?"
"No, I only remember her voice. Princess, c-could you sing to me?"
Jinja's heart stopped. If that was his last wish, she would make it true. She remembered a lullaby that her mother used to sing to her when she was a kid.
(A/N:Here is the link of the lullaby on yotube: /watch?v=5t02YwUVwLk Listen to it while reading, it will help you understand the lullaby)
"Deep in the meadow, under the willow
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow
Lay down your head and close your eyes
And when again they open, the sun will rise"
Jinja tried to swallow her tears which closed her throat.
"Here it's safe and here it's warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true
Here is the place where I love you…"
Now, Jinja couldn't help but let her tears fall down her face as she stroked his face…
"Deep in the meadow, hidden far away
A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay
And when again it's morning they'll wash away
Here it's safe, here it's warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true
Here is the place where I love you…"
"Wow, Princess…You have a beautiful voice…"
"Thanks Dax"
"Princess…if I don't make it…"
Jinja held Dax's hand and shut his mouth with her finger
"Don't talk like that…you'll make it…I believe in you Dax"
A whirlwind of emotions filled her chest as she stared in those dark brown eyes. The eyes that she had fell in love with…
"I just wanted you to know that I would never let anyone hurt you… "
She kissed his cheek and laid her head on his chest, just above his heart "Don't worry, Dax. You and I will be safe and sound…"
Jinja heard his heartbeat getting weaker and weaker. She sang in an effort to keep him alive…
"Here is the place where I love you…"