Chapter 12- Realization
We had one hour, one hour before the city turned into a battleground. Nya and I burst into another house. "Get out of here!" Nya exclaimed, "or you will all die!" "Young lady," an older woman said, ushering her children out of the room, "We don't have time for your pranks." "This is for your safety," I pleaded, "In a little bit, this city won't be safe anymore." "Safe from what?" the woman asked suspiciously, "From you? You don't look too far from a monster." Nya groaned in frustration, but I said, "Not from me, but from my brother, the Overlord. If I'm a monster, he's ten times the monster I am." The woman looked at me with weary eyes. "What must I do?" she asked finally. "Bring your family," Nya said hurriedly, "We're going to take you to an underground stronghold." That was how the rest of our hour went. We burst into a house, they thought we were crazy until I explained the situation, then they followed us to the snake's tunnel. "Thank you again for doing this," I told Skales warmly. "Anything for a Night Sister," he replied, bowing slightly. "We should go now," Nya murmured. I nodded, then followed her to the door, looking over my shoulder one last time at the village. Nya pulled me out the door, then I flew us up and out of the hole. "Scarlet!" someone cried. I turned to see Cole running toward me. I caught him in an embrace. "The whole city was gone," he said breathlessly, "I thought something happened to you." "I'm fine," I assured him, "And so is Nya." Nya looked at Cole shyly. "I'm so sorry for leading you to believe that I loved you," she said softly. The samurai held out her hand. "Nya," Cole said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder, "We don't have to love each other to be friends." Nya grinned and quickly hugged him out of friendship, then turned and left, smiling at me over her shoulder. "The people of the city are being protected underground by the snakes," I told Cole. "Good," he replied, nodding. "Where is the Overlord?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "He's somewhere preparing to make a grand entrance," Cole replied darkly. "I'm going to fight him," I said fiercely. I began walking forward, but Cole grabbed my shoulders and held me in front of him. "I need you to stay with the rest of the city," he said. "No," I pleaded, "I can defeat him, I know I can!" "Scarlet," Cole said softly, "I can't lose you." "Have you ever thought about me losing you?" I asked sharply, shrugging his hands off my shoulders, "You left me once, and I will not let you do it again. You will get down in that hole and-" Cole cut me off by pressing his lips to mine. He wrapped his arms around me, then pulled back softly. I leaned my head on his chest as tears fell from my eyes. "Everything will be okay," Cole whispered. "How do you know that?" I asked. "I'm a ninja," he replied, "The good guys always win." "That may be true," I said sadly, "But sometimes sacrifices have to be made." "Look at me," Cole murmured. I looked into his dark, brown eyes. He gave me a small smile, then said, "I heard that there's a dance for the graduated class of 303 at the Marty Openhiemer. After this fight, we are going to that, together." "Promise?" I asked. He nodded firmly. I gasped. "Wait here," I said, then I took off running. "Scarlet!" Cole cried. I ran and ran until I reached the park from just a few days ago. I found the patch of dirt under the tree with the red teardrop drawn on it. I got on my knees and began clawing at the dirt. I dropped broken necklace pieces into my lap. I continued digging until I was sure that there were no pieces left. I used my magic and restored the necklace, then fastened it around my neck. I ran back through the city, hoping I wasn't too late. I noticed thick lines of energy connecting a few of the buildings, lines that hadn't been there ten minutes earlier. I jumped up and landed on the energy, bouncing it slightly. I looked into the distance and gasped. The Overlord was powering a huge, mechanical, spider-like thing, and the ninja were trying to defeat it. Suddenly, images flashed across my mind. I saw the city covered in ice. I saw a giant statue made of metal. I saw half of a face mask fall to the ground. "Zane," I whispered. It was him. He was going to die and sacrifice himself to save his friends. I glared at the Overlord. Not on my watch. I ran along the web of energy, jumping between the lines and across them. I finally reached the Overlord. "Brother!" I shouted, "Fight me and let's end this!" "Scarlet," the Overlord said coldly, "You cannot hope to defeat me." "I can and I will," I said firmly. The Overlord thought for a minute as he blocked the attacks from the ninja, who still hadn't noticed I was standing behind their enemy. "Fine," came his answer. All of the energy lines around us disappeared and we fell to the ground. The Overlord rearranged his energy so it enveloped the two of us. He slid out of his spider mech and walked over to me, a deadly sword appearing in his hand. "You're crazy!" I heard Jay yell. "Scarlet!" Cole cried. I felt my familiar daggers in my hands, then held them up as the Overlord swung toward me. I wasn't expecting that much force, so when he hit me, I was knocked to the ground. "Pitiful sister," the Overlord mocked, "After I defeat you, I will defeat all of your ninja, then I will wipe out this entire city." "I'm glad that I'm first on your list," I said coldly, shakily standing up. The Overlord cocked his head. "I'm not planning to die," I said, "So it may be difficult to cross me off."
After this, there is one more chapter and an epilogue, and then it's the end! Can you guys believe it? Haha, I honestly thought I would never finish this, but I did! So ya, Cole and Nya parted ways as friends. Is that a good ending to the awkward love triangle? I thought so:) Just a sneak peek, the next chapter is called "The Battle"! Have a good week! As always, thanks for reading! It means a lot to me!
