Turns out that I lied in my comments the last chapter; this isn't my favorite chapter that I've written so far. I wrote something that I thought would be this chapter, but there were too many things I needed to fill in before I put it in here.

(They're the answers to the questions like where Mint and Lettuce are, why they left Pudding, and what, or should I say who *spoiler* Kish and Ichigo were looking for. The answers are coming daisukezgirl13! You've just got to be patient for now. Sorry!)

So, without further ado, here's Chapter 21 of "Tears of a Mew Mew"! Enjoy!

Beneath the shadows of the clock face, Pudding had begun to get drowsy. Her mind drifted, trying to remember what Ryou had said the time difference was in London. She wondered if her younger brothers and sisters were able to heat up their dinner okay. Luckily she had left a note on the fridge saying to eat without her if she was late coming home from work. The real problem would be if she wasn't home before bed. Who would read them their bedtime story? Would they all properly brush their teeth? Were they fighting over who could wash their face first?

Sighing, she unclenched her hand to look at her pendant. How many hours had it been since they had spoken with Akasaka-san? Pudding patted her hands on either side of her face, trying to wake up.

"Pudding has to be awake if Mint and Lettuce onee-chan come back," she told herself. "When they come back, they may have Ichigo onee–" Her voice caught in her throat, her eyes welling up with tears. Furiously, she tried to blink them away, but one image kept popping up in her head: the first glimpse of the Blue Knight, his rib cage crushed underneath the clock face. If something like that had happened to Ichigo…

A sob escaped her throat before she could hold it back. She could picture it; a twisted thought tainting a child's pure mind. The blood the dogs kept sniffing as they passed would be Ichigo's from where the clock face had fallen on her. Her dress would be torn and stained red, her strawberry bell broken in half just out of her desperate reach. Her ears would lie limply against her tangled hair.

Another sob escaped. Pudding quickly brought her fists up to her eyes to help hold back her tears. She would not cry; she had promised herself she would not cry. It was her job to wait for that familiar voice...

"Looks like you're emotionally compromised," a boy's voice mocked, causing Pudding's head to shoot up. Her grip on her pendant became even tighter. This was not the familiar voice she had been waiting to hear.

"Guess we can try it out on you now, too," the voice continued, the smile apparent in his voice.

A pair of arms grabbed the young girl from behind, pulling her to her feet. She screamed from instinct, fighting to get away. Something cool was pressed against her arm; it pricked her.

"MEW MEW PUDDING, METAMORPHO-SIS!" she cried, breaking free from the boy's grip. A yellow glow enveloped the young girl, lighting up the dark space, revealing her attacker.

"Taruto!" Pudding growled, holding her weapon defensively in front of her. "What were you doing?" He stared at her, a playful expression on his face and a strong grip on the syringe in his hand. "Is that what you used on Ichigo onee-chan?"

"And a bit on you," he teased. It was then she noticed the little tint of red on the tip of the needle.

"Ribb-on," she began, holding up the two rings. He had injected her with something; she needed to get that syringe away from Taruto. It could be used to save Ichigo. "Pudding Ring INFERNO!"

The little alien easily dodged the attack, transporting away in an instant. Pudding's attack had broken the clock face in half; one piece fell forward, allowing the Mew to get out easily to continue her attack.

"Did you really think that would work against me?" Taruto's voice taunted. He was nowhere to be seen, but Pudding could sense his presence. Going to the center of the clearing before the clock face, she pivoted quickly, her weapons poised at the ready. It was dark; too dark to see anything around her. The floodlights seemed to be miles away.

"Ribb-on," she said, preparing herself, "Pudding Ring…" There was another prick, this time in her shoulder. "INFERNO!"

The area was bathed in light for a moment. She saw Taruto flying away defensively, but the attack did not hit him. The syringe was half-empty; half of it was inside of her.

She felt a cool sensation rush down from her shoulder. Something was dripping down her arm, but it did not smell like blood. The scent that hit her was chemical. She gasped in surprise, and immediately slipped her armband down to wipe the liquid off of her arm. Now she had a sample; Ichigo could be saved.

But it meant nothing if she couldn't get out of this fight. Her head had begun spinning, but she stood strong. She silently prayed that Lettuce and Mint had seen the light of her attack over the tall piles of rubble and were on their way back right now.

But they were both hoping that Pudding had seen the light of their attacks.

Sorry that was a short chapter, but with what I'm putting in the next chapter it seemed like a pretty good place to cut it off. My mind has been running around with these chapters, and I seriously wrote a full chapter that will probably fall into the Chapter 23 or Chapter 24 category. That one is my favorite one that I have written so far!

Don't worry though, I hope to be updating pretty soon! And, I'm very close to finishing the re-write for Chapter 2!

So, until next time, read and review!