Meeting Kanou-a

by bxk-freakazoid

Our fav gang of four hangs out at the beach. roaming alone to an abandoned area, Ben spots an unusual but common fairytale fantasy; a merman! the aftermath of this new frndship, and a bunch of twists and turns, a bit of fighting and angst :P inspired from a few comics on smackjeeves . com ! rated M for sexual stuff and bad language! OCxBen / KevinxBen! COMPLETED!

21. I'm right here

new chappie! Oh my GODDDDD! ForTheLoveOfLink has given me an AMAZING complement! I quote "... Someone should send this to Man of Action, and make them include Kanou-a in the TV show! He's. So. COOL!..." and I shud add she 'died' after the complement, due to kanou-a's awesomeness.

... =*o*= ...

to include my own character in a POPULAR TV SHOW?! YOU GUYS ARE JUST KILLING ME! SO MUCH LOVE FOR MY KANOU-A! OH GOD! I love you all! thank you soooo much! (cries in happiness) especially to ForTheLoveOfLink who actually mentioned me in her profile! I still cant get over how you described my story as the best in fanficnet! im so touched I kept squealing into the air for i dunno how long! thnk you all! thnk you!

aw I think im feeling better already! take THAT tummy-flu! BWAHAHAAHH! *coughcoughcough!*

I dunno if I shud be happy that I managed to scare the HELL out of the reader with my super hot mad kanou-achan! hahaha seriously, wow. even im stupefied. and I had been ill and I was worried the chapter was flawed, but wow, really, wow!

And april fool's day just went by; I hate the day due to past experiences btw, but I hope u all had fun! :P and I had a lovely surprise of my own; awesomelyawesome, a Guest, happens to review in great awe of this story, and I squeal about as always whn I get reviews, until suspicions lead me to question my bestie J.J, who finally admitted that she was 'aweseomlyawesome', no pun intended :P hehe! It was funny! :D so, a special shout-out to my bestie- ... J.J! LOVE YOU! :D

Oh, hi there Reyna Gold! Well, to answer your questions (2 of them ?!) hmm, when u ask whom I like more, Submissive or Dominant, thats a tough question. Personally I like the Dominant, but sometimes I flip to like the cute lil submissive kitten too! :3 but I dunno, actually I like both and... oh man, Madame Gold, you evil lady you! (sigh) ok, well that answer was an epic fail. Ok on to the next question... oh boy, best fanfic I ever read on this website?! Seriously... hmm... well, I have a couple of suggestions, the top one wud be A Tale of a Demon Lord, by Kitty Gets Loose, written for the fandom Sesshomaru/inuyasha, for the serries Inu Yasha. Its so well-written I felt ashamed of my own writings! :P and the next most awesome fic I ever read wud be Numb, by deranged black kitten of doom, written for Kevin/Ben. its really dense and superb too! Its incomplete, sadly, but I hope the writer updates by any chance. Oh and... im sorry but I have no idea about the Doctor Who series, so I haven't read that fic u have mentioned T_T! And, coming to the next matter, yes, I think I like the 'prince' bit! Its actually really cute! Aw, u shud have mentioned this earlier, and I wud have used it in my story! Oh and don't worry, although I have no problem with threesomes, tho I do tend to shy up like you, I am not going to put a threesome in this story, at this point it wud be ridiculous! Hahah!

Once again, u have taken a chunk offa my authors note, reyna gold!

:D hahaha... :'( I love you guys...

okay now on to the new chapter that is being anticipated! hawhawhaw!

warning: boys love / yaoi / fighting / there had been gorey stuff / youre call.

disclaimer. I don't own ben ten alien force. Rath made THAT clear T_T.

---

Meeting Kanou-a

Chapter twenty one: I'm right here

Now that the computer was destroyed, Kanou-a, Ben, Kevin, Gwen and Julie were about to leave the lab, when a shout stopped them dead in their tracks.

"Please, wait!"

The five of them turned around, to see that Veremnos was the one who had called out. He was struggling as he stood up with C-Mexx's help. The redhead had an arm around his Commander's waist, and had slung the latter's arm around his own shoulder. The silver-haired alien looked up at the five who stared back to know why they had been stopped.

"The bomb," Veremnos spoke in concern, "Since the computer has been destroyed, it is true that the Mutation Bomb will have no dataflow to lead it, but I have a very bad hunch that the bomb is going to mutate nonetheless; but in a manner more different and drastic than that I had planned!"

Kevin raised an eyebrow and frowned, "How drastic?"

Veremnos bit his lip, "I suspect that it will be twice as larger than I had wanted it, and its growth will go out of control, as will its structure and mass; it won't be of use for what I had planned it to do, but I doubt it will be harmless!"

The teens looked at each other, feeling dread hit their stomach once more, for the umpteenth time that day. Was there ever going to be a stop to this feeling of worry?

Kanou-a stared at Veremnos, who looked back with true sincerity in his ivory eyes. Then, Kanou-a was the one to nod, "Thank you for informing us about this, we shall handle the creature as fast as we can."

The dumbfounded Veremnos looked at the solemn merman, and now he too found it a little hard to believe that the previously terrifying cold eyes were presently so warm and calm. Kanou-a even gave him a polite smile of thanks.

"Should we... uh... can we help? In any way?" Veremnos asked doubtfully. He was not sure that the teens and the merman would accept the help of the now-ex-villain, but he wished to ask, in a way of redemption of all he had done.

The merman shook his head politely, "No, that will be unnecessary, but thank you for the concern," then, Kanou-a smiled, "You may leave the responsibility to us. Meanwhile, please make arrangements to leave Earth. I hope the both of you have a good life ahead of you, with no bad deeds to mark your souls."

Vermenos and C-Mexx looked at each other, and then smiled gratifyingly at the merman.

o.o.o

The merman and his friends now stood at the beach, watching the huge, black Spaceship zoom away, a trail of smoke following it where in its labyrinths a room had been half-destroyed (the Lab that is).

Kanou-a turned to the horizon that showed signs of evening. Orange, red and violet colours were sweeping across the vast expanse of sky, like an artist's canvas. The sun hung in that sky like a small disc of pink, amidst the violet hues.

"Man, it's good to be back on the ground again!" Ben sighed, as he stretched out his hands, cracking and popping bones into place. Kevin was doing the same, and then twirling his arms at the shoulders. The girls swivelled their hips, sighing at the freedom from the metallic interiors they had been imprisoned in, all day since morning.

Sighs and relieved groans peppered the air along with the sighs of the breeze. The same breeze blew softly through the air, making the teens fall silent and listen, admiring the way it felt against their skins. The fringes on their foreheads fluttered as they gazed at the pretty artistic scenery of the sky. Their clothes fluttered around they body, and there were small patches, and greyish blemishs on their pants, shirts, tops, all a result of f ighting since morning. Kevin had the most damage to his clothes, in the relative sense, gained from being in the Cublor's tummy.

Kanou-a took a deep breath of the familiar salty air, and smiled, letting it out in a relieved sigh.

Almost immediately the next moment, his smile fell.

Kanou-a had sensed it even before the ground started to shake.

"H-hey, what's going on?!" the surprised teens hunched, looking down at the sandy ground under their feet, while they put their hands out to keep their balance. Kanou-a and Gwen glanced at each other; green irises meeting blue orbs.

The redhead Anodite spoke, "Did you feel that too, Kanou-a?"

"Yes. So, you did, too?"

"Faintly, but, yes!"

The brunette Ben gave out gasp, "Woah, an earthquake?" as he stumbled and held Julie when she bumped into him in surprise with a squeak.

Suddenly, Kanou-a and Kevin gasped together, "Oh no!" their wide eyes were staring out to the horizon. Ben, Gwen and Julie looked at the direction the twins were staring at, and their gasps added to the air as well.

The ocean's greyish blue waves shook as a huge shadow started to appear on the surface of it. Against the horizon's colours and light, a huge red-coloured head was slowly starting to rise out of the water, streams of sparkling water flowing off it as it lifted further and further.

"T-that must the Cublor that the bomb created!" Ben gaped. Kevin nodded, confirming his doubt. The girls stepped back as they watched the mound grow larger and larger, spilling the displaced water, droplets showering everywhere.

"Its okay, guys! We don't have to panic," Ben spoke with his eyes glued on the mound of red that grew, although his voice wavered slightly, "Its only ONE Cublor right? We can take it; together, it'll be easy!"

The head was rising and rising.

But then, it was noticeable that there was no stop to it!

"Ohhhhkaaaay," Kevin spoke long and nervous as he stepped further back, his mahogany eyes wrought on the head whose feelers and fins seemed to be appearing on it, "The thing's not stopping its growth."

The dismayed Ben looked at the growing creature.

"NOW can we panic, Tennyson?!" Kevin groaned, eyes not leaving the growing mound.

"I'mma go with a YES!" Ben gulped.

The teens stepped back some more.

Kanou-a watched too, his eyebrows slanting upwards in the middle, "Good God of the Ocean! Its bigger than the creature that swallowed Friend Kevin!"

Surely, this red Cublor was, as Veremnos predicted, out-growing expectations; several small black eyes appeared on the huge head that grew out against the sun's light. Growls and groans sounded in the sir, the ground shook a little more, although it was doubtful whether that was the doing of the creature's growth or the creature's growls.

The teens had their heads fall back as their eyes followed the mound rise and rise, a large cavernous mouth was now appearing, amidst the waterfall of salty ocean water that swam off i's slick slimy skin as its grew out the surface. Bigger and bigger, it was now roughly the size of THREE normal Cublor larvae those themselves had been formidably huge. The large shadow of the crimson-hued Cublor washed over the five and everywhere else it could reach on the shore.

"Its-its just really HUGE!" Julie gasped loudly.

"Like, Waybig kinda HUGE!" Gwen added.

Kanou-a suddenly turned around as he swung his hands out to his side. The teens turned to him, blinking in confusion.

"Uh, Kanou-a?" Gwen asked doubtfully, for she could suddenly feel his energy activating and rippling in the air.

Kanou-a's eyes glowed neon-blue as he spoke, "The humans who live on this shore must not see this abominable Cublor, or the curiosity will drive them too close to it, and they shall fall victim to any crossfire! We must not let innocent lives be put at stake in this fight!"

The girls blushed in awe at Kanou-a's foresight; he was indeed going to be a very thoughtful and just ruler.

Sparkles of energy glowed at Kanou-a's fingertips as he made a waves of rippling light swim out his hands. It flew about along the vast abandoned shore and disappeared.

"What was that trick?" Ben asked curiously, looking around and trying to spot the disintegrated energy wave.

Kanou-a answered, "I created a mirage; an invisible shield all along the shoreline so that any human who would happen to see the Ocean will not see the Cublor, but instead, they will see a stormy Ocean, thereby discouraging any attempts to come out for a swim."

Ben smiled proudly at Kanou-a's ingenuity. The girls beamed in admiration. On the contrary, Kevin pouted, looking away, finding it sour to digest how cool the merman was. But his temporary jealously did not last long; it was replaced by shock, as he looked at the Cublor and gasped:

"GUYS! Its stopped growing!"

The four that were distracted, whipped their heads back at the horizon partly blocked by the Synthetic Mutant Cublor. It looked different from a normal Cublor, and the five guessed that this must be the full version of the Cublor larvae that they fought. It was definitely NOT a pleasant fact.

The huge mouth, big enough to swallow several monster trucks, opened to bellow in thundering cataclysmic roars. The teens, with their hair flying and clothes fluttering, slammed their hands to their ears and winced in pain. Whipping winds and spray of water rained everywhere. The ground shook again.

Kanou-a flinched at the sight, feeling dreadfully helpless.

It was too big.

Even Kanou-a felt a little unsure if he could fight it; for he had only matured recently, and the already huge amount of power he had unleashed from his body earlier would put a heavy toll on his health and stamina. Kanou-a turned to his friends as told them of this, in dismayed tones.

This news only added more sour acridness to the four panicking throats.

Ben's mouth fell; till now, he had been confident that with Kanou-a, nothing could happen to them. But he scolded himself not remembering that Kanou-a was a living being too, who had his wear-outs and limits, and it was his own fault for thinking of Kanou-a as indestructible.

"I'm sorry, Friends," Kanou-a looked at them sadly, his long black hair whipping against his face, crossing over and under his eyes bright in agony, "I so do wish I could help you all, once again! But if I go against this creature with my full powers, I shall be fatally injured, energy-wise!"

Ben struggled against the winds and tiny storm of sand and air, to grasp Kanou-a around the shoulders, and hugged him, calling out to be heard over the loud noises around him, "Its ok, Kanou-a! We all have our weak spots! We'll think of something!" and in reply, Kanou-a wrapped his hands around Ben's waist. Ben pulled back his head, while his hands were still holding the pale shoulders, and turned his face to his remaining friends, while peering through his flying fringe of brown hair, "Guys? Any ideas?"

The girls were holding each other as the red hair and black hair fluttered wilding around their respective heads; the hem of Gwen's red tube-top fluttered, while the open flaps of Julie's white bolero whipped. The clueless females looked just as helpless, so they turned to Kevin, who remained without a partner, black hair swivelling up and around, clothes battering against his rock-solid muscles, his jaws clenching his teeth in anxiety:

Iif Kanou-a can't do it, then how were they to stop a huge Cublor like that?! Even Ben as Waybig would be exhausted at some point!

"Maybe we should have taken Veremnos' help!" Ben sighed. This made Kanou-a even more guilty; already, he could not help his hopeful friends, and on the top of it, he had sent away the one pair of aliens who may have had the way to stop the creature.

Blue eyes, briefly hidden by black silky hair, caught toxic green that looked calmly at him. Those eyes told him to stop feeling guilty. It made Kanou-a's heart race and he wanted to think out a plan to stop this mayhem and calamity.

Kanou-a sighed and closed his eyes, hugging his beloved brunette close to his chest, as the winds and streams of greyish swirls lashed brutally around them. The girls huddled to Kevin who wrapped his arms around them protectively; even though he was bad-ass, he knew when to be a protector.

The Adult Cublor swung its head and roared mightily. The ground shook harder, and winds whipped stronger.

Kanou-a prayed silently, hoping for a miracle, hoping for a thread to grasp on, hoping for a ray to shine into their troubled problem.

And it came. In the form of thunder.

Kanou-a suddenly heard the crackle of thunder. The others heard it too. The teens and the merman looked up to find the sky suddenly growing dark with heavy and thick clouds. Its occurrence was a little too suspiciously sudden. Dark blotches of black, grey and violets littered the furthest corners of the sky, spreading fast even as they watched it.

Ben called out to Kanou-a against the ruckus of winds, "I thought what you did was just a storm's mirage and was not real, Kanou-a?"

Kanou-a gaped at the sky in confusion, answering Ben with his eyes on the sky, "But it was a mirage that I did!"

"Then what are you doing now?" Ben asked, pointedly gazing at the swiftly growing storm-clouds, puffy and black like mushrooms of dark smoke.

"I'm not doing anything!" Kanou-a answered.

In reply, the four teens whipped their heads to him stupidly, their eyes wide as saucers. Kanou-a turned to them and blinked. They kept looking at each other in bafflement, until Ben spat in confusion, "Then who's doing that?!"

Wind, thunder, storming clouds.

White-gold lightning shot from the sky all of a sudden, hitting the red Cublor squarely on the head which wasn't very much hurt though. The boom and crack made the five hearts scream in drums of terror. The teens could barely hear anything, but suddenly, Kanou-a's mouth fell open.

He sensed it; he could tell that energy wave from anywhere.

Gwen frowned as she felt an oncoming bout of mingled energy waves, so powerful it scared her a bit.

"It...it can't be! Goodness! Ofcourse!" Kanou-a gasped, clutching harder on to Ben, who turned to him, narrowing his eyes to protect his eyeballs from the small shower of ocean water that sprayed from the body of the Cublor. "What's wrong, Ka-"

"BROTHER KANOU-A!"

Three male voices shouted loud from the sky.

The three voices were overlapped, but when carefully analysed, the teens realised that one was deep and wise, one sharp and spicy, and third calm and stoic.

Kanou-a went pale, his hair whipping across his face.

Kevin called out, "Was it just me or did I hear the word 'brother'?" he turned to the frozen merman who stared at the sky in more terror than that the teens felt he should be showing. Somehow, from Ben's close vision, Kanou-a looked as frightened as a little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Oh dear; we're saved!..." Kanou-a smiled, but even that smile had a twinge of nervousness in it.

Julie let out a shriek of surprise; the four turned to see her gape at the sky, pointing a wild forefinger at what she saw, "LOOK! LOOK, WOW, JUST LOOK!"

And they looked. And they gaped, joining Julie.

Three figures floated in the sky.

One figure several metres above the Cublor's massive head, one to the Cublor's left, other to the Cublor's right.

All three were mermen.

"Oh my fucking God!" Ben's mouth fell open, his face turning red as did his eyes sparkle, "Are those...your bros, Kanou-a?!" Ben's cheeks went ablaze, watching the three grave but extremely beautiful mermen qhom he had only heard of but never thought he would see. The girls blushed terribly as they gasped at the three figures, breathtaking and handsome. Kevin raised an eyebrow in self-stupefaction, even he was feeling a little...excited.

Kanou-a was the only one to look a little ashen as he tried to smile but failed pathetically, "Y-yes, they are my brothers! Oh we are saved!"

And I am doomed.

Kaprosca was the one floating above the Cublor, his long black hair billowing around him like a cape, yellow eyes piercing and glowing like a cat's would, and face so densely furious that he gave a solid meaning to the phrase 'looks could kill'. His abs rippled in anger, the several precious gems around his neck caught every bit of sunlight it could to shine bright and beautiful. Large golden fins were standing up, while long-nailed fingers were gleaming as he gripped at the flashing Scythe he held in one hand. He was the one creating the darkened sky out of his fury, and the lighting was but a sign of his anger. His golden tail shone like polished gold covered by a cocoon of spinning water, while the pale skin of his upper body was glistening like marble. A coral princely crown of white, orange and yellow adorned his head.

Koniel was to the Cublor's right, (teens' left) his long tail of plaited black hair snaking around in the air like a python, long twin fringes on either sides of his face swung in the winds. His blood-red irises flashed in burning fury, his jaws clenched, lips tight in a line, long red fins spiked alert. His angered hand clutched tight a huge Spear whose blade resembled the head of a flame of fire, while other hand was aflame in smouldering fire. His long tapering crimson tail was shining in the sunset, with a cocoon of spinning water. He had a coral crown too, of orange, red and maroon, glowing in the sunlight.

Ke-inno was to the Cublor's left (teens' right) with his slightly curling hair bannering around him, his silver eyes were half-lidded like always but they had a greyish cold glare in them, he didn't look pleased at all. The skin of his upper body was almost as pale as his brothers' and was nearly pearly white. He held a long pitchfork, it's blades curled like a ram's horns, sparkling bluish-grey. Silvery grey fins stood up, while long beautiful tail of silver-white remained still as his brothers, with the cocoon of water spinning as obvious as it was. A coral crown of grey, silver and blue adorned atop his pretty swivelling hair.

All three eyes; angered golden, furious crimson, displeased silver; three focused on only ONE pair of wide indigo blue eyes.

"Brother Kanou-a!" Kaprosca's voice shot through the air like thunder itself, surprising the teens who jumped. Kanou-a gripped Ben a little tighter as he listened to his big brother who thundered from up above, several feet away, "Turn the humans around! I want NO witnesses to our powers! TURN THEM AROUND, NOW!"

Kanou-a nodded wildly from his spot on the shore since Kaprosca could see him nod, although he may appear very small in his vision. Kanou-a turned to the shocked and petrified teens, while the fear and anxiety was evident in the blue of his eyes, "Friends, please, turn around, do not face brothers as they fight; our ancestry and our methods of weaving magic are to be kept a secret to ourselves!"

He didn't wait for them to respond; he couldn't, not when his elder brother was angry and impatient. Kanou-a let loose one hand from Ben's waist and reached it out to his frozen friends. Blurs of water sprouted out of his fingers and twirled around the teenagers, turning their backs to the Ocean. He moved himself and Ben towards the other three, till they huddled in one crouching group, backs facing the horizon, eyes staring at the sand-covered ground. Kanou-a was at the back of this group, the one who's back immediately faced the horizon, making sure the teens remained turned away. He held out his hands around the group in precaution, to keep them protected from the magic, energy waves, splicing winds, flames and lighting that was to soon shower as the brothers fought the huge Cublor.

Kanou-a winced in worry, and decided to up-the-ante by making a bubble of water to enclose the huddled group, protecting them and himself from the onslaughts going on.

Ben, Kevin, Gwen and Julie gasped, as they gazed at the sand at their feet, their minds tried to imagine the scene going on behind their backs, connecting it to the horrible sounds they heard; wrathful shouts and terrifying war cries of the three brothers, the pained roaring of the Cublor being pummelled, the sparks and flashes of lighting, the burnings hisses of hot fire, the grinding and screeching of the tornadoes.

After about several minutes of painful stillness of wincing and shuddering, the teens felt Kanou-a tense behind them.

And then, a voice floated from just behind them; it was beautiful but cold, amidst the ruckus and noises of the fighting brothers.

"Brother Kanou-a," said the voice, at which the teens and the said mermen turned around to face the horizon again, only to see Ke-inno standing right in front of them.

Damn. He's gorgeous! was what each of the four teens thought simultaneously.

The merman had a very calm countenance, yet he looked rather pissed. From close quarters, Gwen could feel the strong waves of magic off of him, and they were more powerful that Kanou-a's. A cocoon of water swung around and around his tail, like the other brothers.

Ke-inno had his eyes fixed on his little brother, as if the rest of the teens were invisible, "Take your friends under the Ocean; the fight will require more effort and the shore remains a fatal vulnerable point to be on. But do make sure that while you take them underwater deep enough to be safe, they are no where near our kingdom."

Kanou-a nodded stiffly, his voice raspy and full of respect, "Yes, Brother Ke-inno!"

The merman nodded too, and turned, swinging off to the sky again, releasing a gush of wind that blew across the five's faces.

Kanou-a turned to his friends and tried to smile, "We must go under, now!" and in reply it was only Ben who nodded. But the other three froze in their spots. Kevin snapped out at the merman and his brunette lover, "Uh, hello, guys?! We can't breathe under the water! How are we supposed to?!" he gestured to himself and the stunned girls who were too tongue-tied to say anything.

Ben blinked at Kevin. Kanou-a gasped and sighed, "Oh, dear lord, of course!"

Kanou-a leaned out to the girls and spoke in a hurry, "Please! Come here, I can put a spell on you that lets you breathe under water!" and hearing the anxiety in his voice, the girls nodded and stepped closer. Kanou-a put out his hands; he traced a pentacle-in-a-circle symbol of both the girls' clavicles at the same time, using one hand for each girl. Gwen and Julie gasped as they felt the warm tingle grow up their bodies and then felt nothing. They looked down at themselves, touched at their necks, and glanced at each other; Gwen saw the symbol glow on Julie, and Julie saw the one on Gwen.

Kanou-a moved back and flashed them a quick smile, before hurriedly turning to Kevin.

The raven in question stepped back in response, and mumbled, "Uh, ..."

He was not comfortable with a spell being put on him, but seeing Kanou-a look so desperate, he bit his lip and moved forward the one step he had withdrawn. Kanou-a reached out and pressed his finger below Kevin's clavicles, inwardly marvelling how similar it felt to his own skin. Kevin held his breath, glaring at the nearly nose-to-nose proximity between him and his 'rival' as the latter traced the symbol quickly on the former's skin. Kevin shuddered as the warm tingle swept up and down in body, and the feeling left as quickly as it had come.

Kanou-a moved back, and Kevin touched at his neck.

"Ok guys, let's go!" Ben called out to them, as he ran out to the waves following Kanou-a who was already up to his waist in the water. The merman was gesturing for the teens to hurry. The girls ran together, while Kevin, who always had to hesitate about weird things he had to do, was just behind them. All four of them and the merman dunked under the raged water.

Since the red Cublor was several meters away from the shore, it was safe for them to swim under. But the deeper they went, the more safe they were from the debris and power attacks of the brothers that may have missed the creature.

Under the water, they swam really fast. At first, the three humans held their breaths in their puffed mouth, since they were new to the concept of breathing freely under the water. Their eyes widened in awe when they saw Ben and Kanou-a swim, talking to each other as casually as if from air.

"Kanou-a, why'd your bros want us to not look at them as they fight? I would have loved to see them in action; they look so regal and majestic!"

"Dear Kirby, I am so sorry, but they don't want humans to know of their spells and their methods of using magic!"

"But we already saw you in your fully-magical form when you took down Veremnos, right?"

"Yes, but I had not been using skilled magical spells and such, for I am only newly matured, while my brothers are all experienced; Brother Ke-inno who is my immediate elder brother is himself a year older and wiser. They know several other forms of magic which they will soon teach me in the future."

"Oh, ok...," Ben nodded understandingly. He looked over his shoulder, to see triple sets of wide eyes and three puffed cheeks laboriously filled with precious oxygen.

Ben smiled out to them and spoke, "Hey,... 's okay guys, you can breathe now! Try it!"

Kevin pouted as he slowly let go of his mouth's hold of bubbles, and watched the escaped clump of air furiously rush upwards. His mind raced in alarm as his mouth felt nearly empty, and then waited for the choke of breathlessness, the helpless strangle of dark water, but nothing happened. He dared to take a small sniff, and the water was not even... watery.

He could breathe!

As shocked as he was with this new feeling being completely inhuman and foreign, he turned to see the girls hanging in the dark water, in a similar state of shock, mouths open, and faces bright. Soft black hair and red hair billowed in the water like silk around their respective heads.

Kevin called out, "Ben! There's gonna be no side effects, right? No gills or flippers popping out by mistake at night, or something?"

Ben rolled his eyes, "Wisely chosen first-words."

The girls giggled, and then froze at what they had just managed to do underwater, and then giggled some more in the excitement of it.

Kanou-a smiled, his sharp mind noting that Kevin's first word spoken underwater was 'Ben'.

A sudden wave and heavy movement in the water shook them all, and their faces turned up. The current situation and the threat was back in their attention, making the merman gasp, "Quick! We must dive deeper! I shall lead you all, hold on!"

That was all he said. Next thing the teens knew, cold coils of water (controlled by Kanou-a) were winding around their waists, and they were whizzing through the cool water as Kanou-a raced, as fast as a shark, downwards the Ocean's deeper labyrinths. Ben was riding his back, arms around the strong neck, legs tight around the strong hips.

o.o.o

Kanou-a swam pacing forward and back, and the teens sat at the rocky formation on the Ocean floor.

Gwen and Julie were chatting to each other of how weird but wonderful it was to be able to talk, breathe and swim at the same time. Kevin sat at the same rocky formation, with his hands folded across his chest, wondering how his life had gotten so flipped out. Ben sat beside him, anxiously watching his pacing lover who looked very much worried.

Almost suddenly, Kanou-a and Gwen looked up. They had felt approaching energy waves; three distinct sets of sparkling warm energy.

Gwen and Julie got up from the rocky formation and floated lower to where Kanou-a was pacing around. Kevin and Ben joined them. Kanou-a's jaws clenched as three silhouettes appeared in the waters, approaching them like sharks.

Ben comically imagined the 'duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh...' play in his head.

Kaprosca, Koniel and Ke-inno finally were floating right in front of them. The three brothers looked calmer than before, but the fire of irritation hadn't died from either set of eyes, especially from the eldest brother. The three mermen no longer had their weapons, or their princely crowns, and their fins had shrunk to the normal sizes. But they were still breathtakingly beautiful.

Kanou-a was the one to face them foremost. To his side stood Ben, and the other three were to the other side, a little back, deciding to be spectators but significant as well.

Golden eyes flashed as his smooth voice floated in the water darkly, "Little brother Kanou-a," [Kevin raised an eyebrow at the word 'little'] and Kaprosca's nostril flared in restrained anger, "I had accepted you, your preferences, your scandalous love, -" the eyes swung to glare at Ben, who nearly squeaked as he half-hid behind Kanou-a's shoulder, staring back with nervous green eyes, and the eldest merman continued, "and your odd choices of 'friends' as you say," the three faces swung to the remaining teens, first seeing Julie who gulped and bowed, then Gwen who was wise enough to also bow and speak, "G-greetings, Your Highnesses."

Three sets of eyebrows shot up in dull surprise, and they nodded in acknowledgement of Gwen and Julie's gesture of respect, which they hadn't expected from the humans.

"They are not completely human, are they? This red-haired female, especially?" Koniel eyed the girls with a pair of narrowed crimson irises.

Kanou-a nodded , "They are, as they call it, 'hybrids'."

And then the three faces glanced at Kevin and nonchalantly turned to Kanou-a, only to zip back to Kevin in silent shock of realisation. Kevin found himself feeling hot around the neck as three, cold, blunt glares of disbelief pierced him in right in the face.

"Uh," Kevin managed to speak, shrugging, "Ssup?"

In reply, the mermen looked at him as if he had grown a ten-headed serpent on his nose. Ben nearly choked, Kanou-a looked frozen, and Gwen elbowed Kevin's ribs from her side. Julie gave a silent sigh of defeat.

Kaprosca hissed at Kanou-a, though his eyes refused to leave Kevin's face, "Who is this imposter?!"

Kanou-a defended Kevin vehemently, putting out a hand to Kevin's side as if to protect him from any sudden punches the three mermen might swing at him, "N-no, brothers, he is no imposter! He is my friend, and our uncanny resemblance is but a play of Fate! In fact, our resemblance makes our friendship deeper than it appears, on several levels."

Kevin glared at Kanou-a, and whispered, "Dude, that's just gay!" at which Gwen elbowed him in the ribs again and that made him shut up instantly. Kanou-a had not left the eyes of his brother's who gazed back solemnly.

Kaprosca narrowed his golden eyes on Kevin again, "Kanou-a, why does he radiate of your energy?"

"He was on the point of near-death in a particular situation, so I had revived and healed him using my powers." Kanou-a kept his eyes low and respectful.

Three sets of eyes looked at each other.

"Coming to the important matter at hand," Kaprosca's lips tightened, a vein seemed to throb on the perfect skin of his forehead, swept by soft silky black hair, "We trusted you to keep your human acquaintances away from our kingdom, and our kingdom away from them! And yet, what is all this, Brother?! What is all this catastrophic disturbance commencing since the day you came to us fully matured from a human, of all things?!"

Koniel was not happy either, "That creature whom we fought and successfully defeated,... it was reeking of evil, with absolutely no aura of life, yet moves as if in false energy! Creatures like that are not made by Nature, nor are they meant to be living! Who had so proudly created a creature like that?! Why had it been planted in the ocean?! Why did it seem to attract to us as if wanting to ensnare only us?!"

Ke-inno added calmly, "I had sensed a bland cloud of aura hang above the ocean, several days ago from now. I had been puzzled and displeased of it. I even went to the lengths of swimming to the surface, and saw nothing in the sky, yet felt its presence, heavy and dull in the air above. And now I see it has disappeared, yet suddenly, there happens a bout of powerful energy from a mass of flesh in the water growing at the alarming pace that creatures usually never manage! What was that deadly creature?!"

Kanou-a looked at them, appalled and tongue-tied. His face was nearly pink in nervousness.

"Little Brother," Kaprosca growled darkly, golden flashing again, as his nostrils flared, "You had promised to keep humans away. And now, our kingdom was nearly attacked by an unknown creature, which nearly killed you! I had warned you that your affair with the human must not interfere with the peace and harmony of our lives, our kingdom, one which you will soon be ruling a part of! And yet here you are, shamefully standing amidst the pathetic humans, bringing trouble to our lives where there was never one so terrible as that horrible creature! Kanou-a, this has gone far too long! WE HAVE BEEN FAR TOO LENIENT WITH YOU!" his temper climbed drastically, as was evident in his hands that shook at his sides, fisted and sparking in yellows bursts, while the citrus-yellow eyes were widened in anger.

The teens had jumped and felt their blood run cold, for the brother looked mad to a point of frying Kanou-a's skin right off his flesh. Kanou-a moved back, gulping. So this was why he had been scared. Now the teens understood too.

Kaprosca was nearly panting in fury, but Ke-inno's hand glowed as he spoke solemnly, "Brother Kaprosca, we must speak to Little Brother than take actions against him, at least, till he clears his part."

The First Prince of the Ocean silenced himself, taking a deep breath, his jaws clenching afterwards. He remained glaring at his youngest sibling, and let the second do the talking now. Taking cue, Koniel frowned, his crimson eyes fixated on terrified blue, "Love is inevitable. I, of all, know that very thoroughly. But this has gone too far, Kanou-a! Your attachment with the humans puts both kingdoms in danger, but especially our's, since you know how dominating the humans are. We have no love for humans, but it is because we love you that we restrain from obliterating the humans you have been touched by!" his face scowled angrily, a vein was pulsing on his forehead too, "Kanou-a, this really has gone far too long! Putting the kingdom in jeopardy will not sit well with us! Pathetic humans, always causing trouble wherever they set their two-legged selves on! Such cursed creatures! Disrupting all peace that prevails over Nature!" Koniel was now starting to rupture like his older brother and once again, Ke-inno's hand calmly glowed at his side.

"Brother Koniel, please, do not let the wrath rule you, let us ask Kanou-a what his side of the argument is." And in motion of his words, the silver eyes coldly settled on Kanou-a's shaken face.

The gold and red eyes followed.

"Tell us, Brother Kanou-a," Ke-inno asked solemnly, "What was that creature we fought?"

The teens, who had shrunk back slowly, wondered how Kanou-a was going to answer them.

Kanou-a bit his lip as he kept his head low, and eyes on the fins of gold before him, "... Th-the creature had been synthetically created by an evil pair of beings who wished to... to ..."

"To?" Ke-inno asked coldly. Even though he was not as stirred-up as the other two brothers, his voice chilly enough to make the hearer feel terrified; he was like cold fire.

"They had initially wanted to capture my friends, but when they knew of my existence and my powers, they created the creature to scoop all merpeople and use them as energy sources."

Three pairs of furious eyes widened in horror.

"WHAT?!" the three brothers gasped together.

"Uh oh," Ben mumbled to himself.

Kaprosca's and Koniel's chests heaved in utter fury, as their fists curled and their eyes swung to the frozen humans. "Energy sources?! How dare those beings...!" Koniel hissed in disbelief, eyes wide in anger. Kaprosca shook like a volcano about to erupt.

"THESE HUMANS HAVE ENDANGERED THE WHOLE KINGDOM JUST BECAUSE THEY HAPPEN TO KNOW YOU?!" Kaprosca thundered, pointing wildly at the four behind Kanou-a. Kanou-a winced, hunching a little in the decibels hitting his ears in great pain. The teens shrank back, and Ben hid completely behind Kanou-a's brawny form.

Koniel, spat angrily, "ENERGY SOURCES?! IT IS OF NO LIVING THING'S RIGHT TO CALL ANOTHER AS AN ENERGY SOURCE UNLESS NATURE WILLS IT! AND YET?! HOW DARE THEY!"

Ke-inno shook his head solemnly, while calm anger swirled in his eyes, "What a shame; the utter insult and terrible conception of utilising living beings!"

Kanou-a winced more, biting his lips hard from shouting back, for that was the last thing he wanted to do, disrespect his brothers.

Ke-inno hissed icily, "You should be glad Father is not in the kingdom at the moment! He has been asked to attend a festival for another kingdom and has been away since today morning! Had he known of this, he would not have left the human race alive!" the cold grey orbs moved to bestow a look of indifference on Ben who had been peering over Kanou-a's shoulder in fear.

Kanou-a spoke up for the first time since the outburst, "But brothers! We defeated them! My human friends are not just any humans! They are heroes!" he gestured to them, "This human knows of great reflexes and has a pet who can transform in to weapons! This female is an energy being, not unlike us! This human is what they call an Osmosian, who can adsorb materials and become very strong! And then there's Kirby!" Kanou-a looked over his shoulder, his voice softening, and then looked back at his brothers, feeling a little proud of his lover, "My Kirby is the hero of the human world. He protects the land kingdom from the other worlds that co-exists but attack the Earth for profit! Kirby is the protector of the land kingdom, just like Father is of our! These humans, who stand behind me, are not ordinary; they are special, and they are my friends! Just because most of the humans are ill-minded, doesn't mean they all are! Brother Irides was a Dark, yet was he ever an evil person? He just happened to have been a good person born in the wrong place! These humans are good, too! They are not troublesome and evil, but are loving friends I have made! Besides, we already defeated the two evil beings who wanted to ensnare us, and they had surrendered to us, and promised to be on the path of good from now on! Isn't that an achievement, to show a wronged soul the right way? Isn't what I did, a right thing?!" Kanou-a looked from brother-to-brother, desperate to make his part justified.

"Yes, it was a right thing. And I acknowledge and applaud you for it. And I am proud of you," Kaprosca nodding slowly, "But that does not change the fact that your acquaintance with the humans nearly had our kingdom in danger! Also let me ask you, was it you or your heroic lover, who saved you from the creature from a few seconds ago?!"

Kanou-a opened his mouth to retaliate, but then hung his head seeing he had no viable argument to that question.

Koniel shook his head sagely, "You simply cannot be with a human without creating problems, Kanou-a! Humans attract problems as do preys attract their predators! But they have their own ways of fighting their enemies, and of winning too, because they have no trouble with violence. But that will not be the same for us! We have lived and been taught to live in peace and purity of the mind! The creature we fought today alone stains our hands with blotches of violence we do not like to yield to!"

Kaprosca was feeling calmer from Ke-inno's effect on the water, hence he didn't add a comment.

So Koniel chose to continue to speak in smooth but serious tones, "That is it. We have no choice but to limit you, Kanou-a. We cannot let you swim about and bring catastrophes upon our heads. As the future rulers, we cannot risk the fate of an entire kingdom for the sake of one being."

Kanou-a's head snapped up, blue eyes flashing like headlights, "W-what do you mean?! Am I to be punished? Am I forbidden to be with Kirby?!"

The three brothers looked coldly at him. Their faces were now calm, and that actually looked a whole lot more fiercely deadly than when they were angry.

Ben gripped Kanou-a's bicep in anxiety. Kevin, Gwen and Julie glanced at each other, and then at the mermen.

"You are not being punished, Little Brother," Kaprosca spoke in his deep voice, "But we merely cannot last on your promises; so we need you take a solid decision, NOW."

"D-decision?" Kanou-a stammered, eyes zipping between gold, silver and ruby.

"Yes," Koniel answered, "You have but two options, and you will chose one, NOW. There will be no procrastination on this; you will not leave our sight till you chose one."

The teens blinked. Kanou-a blinked too. His hunched body straightened as he nodded politely, "Yes, I shall choose. Please do give me my choices."

The Lightning Prince turned his head a little and glanced at the wide-eyed teens who stood behind Kanou-a. Once feeling those fiery yellow eyes drilling into their defences, they all scattered their attentions to their shoes and surroundings. Kanou-a followed Kaprosca's line of vision, and then looked back at the brother. Kaprosca and Kanou-a looked at each other for a few moments, a silent order had been conveyed from the elder brother to the younger brother, just by merely gazing at each other's eyes.

Kanou-a nodded, and then turned to his three human-hybrid friends, "Friends, could you please excuse us? Brothers wish to discuss this privately."

The teens seemed a little taken aback; Gwen and Julie looked a little insulted, and Kevin looked indignant. As much as Kanou-a also felt this was really insulting to them to be asked to not involve in the decision-making, Kanou-a could do nothing. He made sure his friends understood his vulnerable position; blue eyes looking at them were helpless since he could not disobey his elder brother's whims. Somehow, they seemed to have caught Kanou-a's apologetic look, and also seemed to acknowledge it.

Ben looked at his friends, and then at the eldest prince. As if Ben's glance had been spotted, the golden eyes immediately swung to pin on Ben's shocked green saucers, and the deep voice spoke, "However, you shall remain here, Kanou-a's lover."

Ben's lips opened but no sound came, and he managed to nod stiffly.

Pairs of golden, silver, crimson, indigo and emerald eyes focused to the three teens again, putting them in the limelight.

Kevin, Gwen and Julie glanced at each other unsurely; until Julie, always the one to readily accept peaceful measures, bowed in her traditional Japanese manner at the mermen brothers, and swam back a small distance. The red-head also bowed as she too swam back to Julie, while Kevin didn't bow but nodded as he moved backwards to the girls, without leaving the sight of the brothers from his vision.

Now, the three were a little away, their ears were straining to hear in the excitement of what the two choices Kanou-a was going to be given. Since the trio had lingered just within the earshot, they could hear what was being spoken by the four mermen and Ben.

Sun-yellow and blood-red moved sideways to Ke-inno, who nodded at his older brothers and fixed his eyes on Kanou-a, to speak in majestic smooth tones, "Your decision shall be to choose only ONE of the two paths given to you. One; forget the human. Never think of him again; you may even put a spell on yourself and your lover to forget each other; let the merman's and the human's lives never cross again! It is at the meeting of the two worlds, the Land and the Ocean that creates the Crash of Waves. A merman and human will never be able to live together in harmony, as long as each one has an entire kingdom to protect respectively, that too, kingdoms that are nearly opposite in morals, traditions and other attributes. Each will attract their own enemies, and each one's enemies will utilise the other, as it has turned out to have actually happened. So, forget the human, the love, the affection."

Kanou-a froze. They all froze to be accurate.

Ben bit the insides of his mouth to stop himself from gasping. But he didn't have to worry. There was no way Kanou-a was going to chose that option. It was understood. Kanou-a too looked solid and unmoving, he was easily not fond of approving of this option. But what was the second option?

"Two; convert the human into a merman. Let him live with you, for the rest of your life, and be in your presence, enjoy your love, and live in peace much better and beautiful than that ever to be possible in the human's world. But the human, once a merman, must never return to his human world. He will stay here, forever. This way, he becomes a part of us, and is no more linked to the humans, and the cross of the two kingdoms does not occur."

Kanou-a's eyes widened in indecision.

Ben blinked, his cheeks blazing red a little. Even the mermen brothers found that actually adorable, though none of them voiced it.

Ben was shrieking on the inside. A lifetime with Kanou-a?! Just him and Kanou-a, floating through the waters! Ben, swimming with a beautiful green tail, flipping up in the water! Bliss, love, harmony... it sounded perfect! Just him, Kanou-a and their love!

Ben's face lit up in a smile. He knew which to choose! Kanou-a, chose 'two'! Please! Chose 'two!'

Kanou-a gazed wide-eyed at the three brotherly faces staring back at him with half-lidded eyes, waiting for his decision. Kanou-a slowly turned his head, to look over his shoulder at his beloved, and Ben zoomed out of his hiding from behind him. He caught Kanou-a's shoulders and grinned widely at him, his eyes spoke although he didn't say a single word, and Kanou-a could easily read them off of the green eyes, Tell them, Kanou-a! Tell them to convert me! Please! I wanna be a merman! I do! We will be so happy together! Please! Anything to be with you! Yes! Answer them, it's an easy question! The answer is so obvious, right?!

Kanou-a slowly smiled, his face lighting up. The answer...yes, it was simple.

He slowly wound his arms around Ben and held him close, and Ben looked up at him with shiny eyes sparkling like emeralds.

"Ke-inno, why are these humans still here?!" Kaprosca snarled, glancing at the three human teenagers who now seemed alarmed and hesitating on the point of interfering. The eldest brother Kaprosca pressed a hand to his forehead, "Take them back to the surface, they have been brought here to be protected from the fight, and now that the creature is no more, it is absolutely of no necessity for them, or for us, to keep them here," he glanced at Kevin, still not finding it believable of a human who looked exactly like his beloved little brother.

Ke-inno bowed to his elder brother, "Yes, Brother Kaprosca."

"Wait-What?!" Kevin snapped, as swirls of water-coils surrounded him and the girls, and he blinked at the girls in surprise.

Gwen asked carefully as the coils snaked around her waist and arms, "Is- is this necessary?" her green eyes on Ke-inno, who nodded, "Brother wishes it, so it shall be."

Ke-inno swam away, and the three teens found themselves being dragged away as well. Kevin looked over his shoulder, fighting to pull free his hand that was tied up. His brown eyes caught the sight of Ben, who had not even noticed them being dragged away. Ben and Kanou-a were busy gazing at each other, smiling as if already fantasising a future together.

"Ben! BEN!" Kevin called out, but it was Kanou-a who looked, his azure eyes moved to catch Kevin's. Sadness filled the blue, and hatred filled the brown. Ben was still busy gazing at Kanou-a, drowning and losing himself in happiness of the anticipation of being with Kanou-a forever.

Kevin stopped calling out. His eyes went dull as he suddenly realised it; Ben wanted to stay. There was no point in defending this, if Ben himself was not willing to go against Kanou-a's obvious choice out of the two given to him.

Kevin's face hardened, as he gave a final chocolate-eyed look at Kanou-a. Ben had us, before he had you.

Kanou-a looked back into the brown eyes beseechingly, I'm... but I love him too much.

Kanou-a watched the three teens and his brother disappear into the darkness of the waters. He could only watch, and hold his Kirby who was still gazing at him as if lost to the world.

That was when Ben turned to look and noticed the friends being pulled away. He looked around and then saw that the two remaining mermen were glaring calmly at him. Trying to ignore the intimidating glares, Ben looked back at Kanou-a, "Where's your bro taking them?"

"The shore, so you needn't worry."

Kaprosca said, "You have until Ke-inno returns from leaving the humans on the shore, to think about your choice. Then, you must give us your verdict. Immediately."

Kanou-a nodded solemnly. He looked down at Ben and saw the blind love shining densely in the depth of the emerald jade eyes.

o.o.o

Kevin, Gwen and Julie stood on the shore staring at the leaden evening sky; drenched, cold, and dumbfounded.

"I can't believe they kicked us out of the meeting!" Julie gasped, feeling stupid and useless. She hung her pretty but dripping head.

Gwen shook her own wet red-haired head, "No, we can't really blame them. They are mermen, and to them, we will always be a trouble. Taking the decision is only for Kanou-a. Its his kingdom that gets affected; think about it, I mean, if Kanou-a is found by the humans, then the same thing is gonna happen as it did when Veremnos and C-Mexx found him. But if Ben was found by them, they'll probably just avoid him altogether. They're not going to try and over-take our human race, they're a peaceful species, right? But, the humans? Don't think so. The first chance we get, we are going to want to somehow have mermen in our goldfish-bowls if we all came to know about them. So, its justified why they don't want us to be a part of the decision-making."

Gwen's speech made great sense. But it also made her best friend worry.

"Are you telling me that you support that they should convert Ben into a merman?!" Julie gasped again.

"No," Gwen sighed running her manicured fingers through the clumps of copper hair, "I never said that. I only said that we should not be cussing at the merman brothers, 'cause they are rulers and royal blood, and experienced. They know what they're doing." After a pause, she added cheerfully, "And besides, why do we have to worry?! Ben is not going to agree with being a merman for the rest of his life! He can't just blindly forget us, right?"

"Wrong."

Kevin was the one who had spoken, it made the girls turn to him.

He spoke darkly as he stared out at the horizon extending before him, breeze cooling the layer of wetness on his skin, but it did nothing to calm his wailing nerves as he hissed calmly, "You're wrong, Gwen. Ben can forget us."

"Huh?!" Gwen asked softly, looking shocked and lost. Julie blinked sadly. The girls glanced at each other in surprise, and then looked at the male.

"Don't you get it, Gwen?!" Kevin snapped angrily, his fists shook from his sides, his eyes narrowed on her, "It's a life of peace and happiness with his lover, against a life of tiring heroism with us! What do you think he's gonna chose?!" he grit his teeth, "He didn't even notice us being pulled away until the last moment, 'cause he was already busy dreaming of the future! He's head-over-heels in love with that merman, and nothing is going to make him want to not live with him! The choice is too obvious!"

"No!" Gwen defied him desperately, as she glared at Kevin in the eyes, "You can't say that! Ben can't forget us! We have been with him all our lives! He can't forget his family and frrineds! Or duty, his obligation! Do you think he can forget being the hero, having the Omnitrix, saving the Universe?! No, he won't give all that up!"

"HE WILL!" Kevin snapped back, clawing at the air as he hissed at her loudly, "Ben will forget all that! That idiot goes blind whenever he is with something he truly desires! You're his cousin, you should know that, better than me! He's deeply in love with that fucking tailed asshole, and no way he's gonna give HIM up! Do you think we even stand a chance?! You think he will give up the true love of his life, for saving the butt of a Universe thats not even thankful to him?! Or for a bunch of blood relatives, or childhood buddies?! We don't stand a chance against that merman, Gwen! With that guy, Ben doesn't need us! He is not going to give up the merman for us, 'cause nothing matters more to him than the merman; not the world, not the humans, not his parents, not his Grandpa, not his Grandma, not his friends, not his cousin, his ex-girlfriend, not..." his voice went thick in emotion, ",...not his best friend."

He bit his lips, feeling the now familiar crescent burn in his eyes as he growled, "... Ben means a lot to us. To me. But that doesn't mean we mean enough for him to give up a lifetime of happiness with his lover, just for us. When I was in that worm's stomach, the fish-man told me that I meant a lot to Ben. But even if the whole world loves Ben, does Ben value us all, the way he values that merman?"

Gwen and Julie gaped, struck with the dreadful realisation that Kevin had poured into their ears.

"Ben is as good as lost to us, girls. It's obvious. Right now, they're probably doing the incantation crap to make him into a fish! This time next week, we will be seeing a Ben-fish flipping against the sun like a fucking dolphin, cooing and kissing his boyfriend and flapping his hands like a seal and... and..." his emotions clogged his sharp sarcastic mind, he couldn't form any more worse exaggerated interpretations of the merpeople as he choked on his feelings.

He grit his teeth so bad, he nearly powered his enamels.

He turned around, walking away slowly. Gwen gasped, "Wait, where're you going?!"

"Home. I'm gonna go sleep. I'm sick of this. It's all over. Ben's gone forever. I dunno what to tell Max when we get back. I might have to dive back down under the Ocean to get the Omnitrix from Ben, or maybe he's gonna throw it to me in a glass bottle." He scoffed bluntly, walking away.

Gwen looked grieved as she watched him, his back a little hunched, it was a sad and dejecting sight.

It all did make sense actually; Ben couldn't be able to give up his love for a life that was not even kind to him. Gwen now wished she had loved Ben more as a sister, and then maybe they might have had a chance. Julie sighed if only she had somehow managed to be a big part of Ben's life too, enough to topple the balance and let the ball fall in their court. But there was no saying anything now.

"Wait, Kevin, maybe there's gotta be..."

"Nothing; there's nothing we can do!" Kevin snapped, pausing his walk, with his back to the girls. His fists shook again, "He's gone! GONE!"

"Woah..." Julie's gasp flit through the air. Gwen shook her head and added, "Yeah, Jules, it amazing how cowardly Kevin is being right now!" her voice sharpening and becoming louder at the last bits of her sentence, just so Kevin could hear her.

Kevin kept his back to the girls, but refused to keep walking. Gwen continued to glare at his back, waiting for the unleashing of retaliation.

But Julie's gasp sounded again, "Woah...guys...guyss!" but Gwen kept staring at the back of Kevin's head.

"Guys! LOOK!" came Julie's excited squeak.

At this, Gwen and Kevin turned on their heels, and saw Julie point wildly at the Ocean like a kid at a funfair.

Gwen ran to her best friend's side and peered at what the Japanese American's sharp eyes had caught. And then, she too gasped.

Kevin stepped a little forward, blinking. Then, although he didn't gasp, he was close to exclaiming a 'huh?' in surprise.

Something was rising out of the water. A Cublor? A Syntheton? A Metron? No. Its can't be any of those.

The shadow looming under the surface started to form a defined shape as it lifted out of the water. And then a small black mound appeared, to reveal a wet human head, with long black silky hair; more features visible as the person walked up the surface of the water as if walking on steps. Strong shoulders came into view, marble-pale skin glistening in the slick layer of ocean-water that dribbled off it, while sparkling gems strung around the strong column of neck shone in the evening light. Long fins of blue and white at his shoulder were now long like a cape, its hem licking him till his ankles, like the wings of a cricket. Fins adorned the hips, and arms too.

Obviously, it was Kanou-a. And he had legs. That was not new. But there was something else that was new; around his head, a glowing halo shone with small and tiny sparkles glowing and blinking nonstop, making him look like a God, and that same crown of blue and white coral adorned upon the wet black hair. Also, his long legs were bare and visible, his 'private' organ hidden only by strips of moss wound around his hips, like a miniskirt with torn clinging edges, so in general, save the moss, he was naked. Pale legs, thigh and calf muscles rippling as he walked on the surface of water, approaching the teens.

But what baffled the teens the most, was the body that Kanou-a held in his arms like a bride.

Ben.

Yes, Ben lay in his arms, asleep with a peaceful smile on his face of his head fallen a little back, and his arms crossed at his stomach, legs dangling in rhythm to Kanou-a's calm steps nearly humane as if experienced. Kanou-a held Ben carefully but lovingly; pale hands frailly carrying the brunette as he walked to the teens, but particularly, his eyes were wrought on Kevin's.

Kevin himself was speechless and utterly confused. What was the guys doing up here? With legs? It was Ben who was supposed to be with a tail, right? What's happening?

Kanou-a stood at the shore, feet sinking in the soft sand and it was his first time feeling the sand on his toes, but rather than marvel the feeling with curiosity, he kept his eyes on the three teens.

The girls looked at him in confusion. Kevin stared at him in surprise mingled with indefinite amounts of hatred.

"What'dyou want?" Kevin snapped darkly, fingers tightened in his fists, "You come to laugh at us as you make Ben say goodbye?!"

Kanou-a was not even smiling to that insult, as he usually does. Instead, he gave Kevin a sad but calm look, a single look that suddenly made Kevin feel dull and guilty. Then, his mind snapped at him with the question of why he must feel guilty when he had done nothing wrong here.

Kevin stared back angrily at the merman, waiting for a proper answer to the question he had flung at him. The girls stared too, biting their lips, wringing their hands in confusion.

"I come not to laugh at you. But yes, Kirby will say his goodbye." Kanou-a wasn't even blinking.

The girls gasped softly, feeling horrible. So, Ben was here to say goodbye?! Then, why was he knocked out? Or asleep?

Kanou-a stepped forward again, his eyes locked with Kevin's. He walked to his look-alike, while Kevin stood his ground although his heart was raging in his ribcage like a rabid bird wanting out, out, out.

Kanou-a finally stood right in front of him, holding Ben like a bride. Fiery mahogany smouldered on cool light-sapphire. Then, slowly, Kanou-a smiled, lips stretching only a little, it was a small smile... of sadness.

"Kirby has come to say goodbye. Not to you. But to me."

WHAT?!

Kevin's eyebrows furrowed in reply, while the girls had their jaws fall in surprise.

What'd he mean by that?

"Here," Kanou-a whispered, looking down at his charming slumbering angel, moving his cradled hands forward, a gesture of offering the brunette to the raven twin, "I come to return to you what is truly your's."

WHAT?!

"Hu-huh..?" Kevin stammered, his previously frowning face relaxed suddenly, to make way for an expression of utter bewilderment. Kanou-a moved the brunette closer to the other raven, and by reflex, Kevin's hands extended and let the brunette's lithe body be placed onto his strong arms. Kevin felt his sense tingle as he felt the nearly weightless body rest peacefully in his arms.

Slowly, he looked up from Ben to the merman standing right in front of him. The small smile of sadness remained on the beautiful face.

"Whu-wha?" Kevin stammered, lost and speechless.

Kanou-a smiled a little more this time, "I have decided to hand Kirby to you, and the humans, where he truly belongs."

"Y-you're giving him up?!"

Kanou-a lowered his head a little, wet locks framing his face. He looked up again as attempted to sound cheery where he was obviously hurting, "Kirby belongs here, with his family, his friends, his people. It was Kirby himself who had wisely told me that sometimes, responsibility comes before love. I cannot be selfish as to covet Kirby as my own, and take him away from the numerous people who love him unconditionally and who need his protection. Yes, I love Kirby more than my life; but I had no other choice."

"But you did have another choice, you coudda... chose option two?" Kevin gaped in bafflement.

Kanou-a's eyes sparkled sadly, "Yes. I could have converted beloved Kirby into a merman, but that will only give him bodily changes; he will remain a being with no supernatural abilities, as a result, he will be an outcast among my people who all have their own powers. I do not want Kirby to suffer that way, alienated and inferior, even if it is to live with me; I remember Kirby telling me how he had suffered being a lonesome boy in his childhood, and I don't want him to suffer that all over again, in a different environment. And besides, if I were to convert him into a merman, he would not be able to protect the Universe, for he has no magic to self-sustain any body transformations, so he cannot turn into a human for fighting's sake and to help you all. And also, the several people who love him will miss him terribly; I cannot have so many hearts broken. Having Kirby changed into a merman has only one advantage, and that is, he gets to be with me, but the rest of his life will wallow in misery, and I do not want Kirby to be sad even for a moment. Yes, I am sad beyond words, but I am soon to be a ruler, and as a ruler, I shall take my decisions only after I cross-check the benefits, the consequences and the effects it creates. As per that analysis, I only see it fit that I did not convert Kirby."

The girls gaped at the merman who gazed at Kevin. Kevin looked back at him, stunned at what he was hearing; Kanou-a had given Ben up for the sake of... them?

Gwen and Julie were touched. They moaned sadly at him, casting him sad looks.

Kevin put forward his next doubt, "But Ben would have not agreed to this, right?! He really looked damn sure he wanted to stay with you!"

Kanou-a smiled, titling his head, "Kirby always goes blind when he is with something he truly desires, to a point he refuses to see the consequences, or to have the foresight. Kirby loves me, and I do know that. So, he would easily agree to the conversion, without thinking how it will affect his social life, his family, his duty, his obligations, his Fate. He is blindly in love, and I do not blame him; for Kirby is like that, he is lovable, innocent, and affectionate. But I have taken the upperhand of the better man who shows the right path to his beloved; and I know Kirby will not agree to my decision of returning him to the human world, so I had him put into a sleep spell. When he wakes up from his slumber... he will not remember anything."

"HUH?!" three voices gasped together.

Not remember? Where did THAT come from?!

Kanou-a answered, his face a little dull and sad, "I have erased his memory; when he wakes up, he will have no clue he had met a merman named 'Kanou-a'. For, his memories from the day he met me, till a few minutes ago, have been removed."

The girls shook in disbelief, they gave out gasps, "But, but..."

Kanou-a glanced at them, and managed a pained but pretty smile, "Kirby will not be able to go back to his normal life, if he knows who I am and what position I held in his heart. It is best for him if he does not know me in the first place. It will make the pain be non-existent."

He stepped back and bestowed them a sincere smile, "I come to give Kirby to you, and to thank you all, for being my friends, for showing me a world of possibilities that lie outside my water world."

Kevin wathced, shaken and stunned as Kanou-a walked towards the huddled girls, both looked at the brink of sobbing up a storm.

Gwen and Julie sighed, "Oh, Kanou-a..." and they watched in dismay as the merman stood in front of them, a beautiful melancholic smile playing on his lips as he put out his hands, and held Gwen's slim palm in his left hand, and Julie's small palm in his right hand. He brought the hands to heart, as he bowed, "Thank you, for being my friends. I admire you both; Cousin Gwen, for your stamina, your smartness, your manna and energy that I have found unique and helpful, while Friend Julie, for your agility and reflexive skills that have helped me master the human's walk and fight mannerisms."

He lifted up his head again, to look at them, their eyes were laced in a thick layer of glistening tears.

"Kirby is lucky, to have people like you in his life; a cousin who understands him like a friend, sister and mother; and a friend who never fails to help with what ability she has. I have learnt a lot from you, I wish I hadn't had the need to erase your memories as well."

Immediately, the girls gasped, shaking their heads vehemently, "No! Don't remove our memories of you, Kanou-a!" Julie squeaked, a single tear rolled out her small wide eye. Gwen sniffled, "We won't let you! We want to remember you, you are special to us now!"

Kanou-a's smile fell slowly as he gazed down at the feminine hands he held, "I am sorry, it is already done," he released their hands slowly, and they gaped at the golden magical runes swirling and shining on their palms, spell-words which disappeared the next moment. They looked up from their hands, eyes whizzing frantically between Kanou-a's.

The merman smiled once again, "I have no other choice, friends. If you know of me, you will have the tendency to tell Kirby of me, or maybe even spill it to him by mistake. I cannot let that happen, for if he knows of me, he will clamour to meet me, and my brothers will not be pleased, and so will our fates end in another disaster," he smiled nostalgically as he sighed, "Very much like that story Kirby told me of, where the two lovers were from rivalling families who opposed their affair, and in the end, a misunderstanding took place, resulting in one taking their own life and the other seeing the beloved dead, takes their life as well."

Gwen and Julie sniffled in irony as they moaned together, "Romeo and Juliet!"

"Ah yes, that," Kanou-a beamed, though hurt was easily felt in it, "But here, I cannot let death come as the end of this. I am not being a coward by letting Kirby go; I am but bravely sacrificing my love, to let my Kirby live a good life. I am sacrificing my one love for the several people who love Kirby, those who would be devastated if Kirby was no longer with them. I am sacrificing my love for the sakes of Kirby's good future. Is that not what a good person must do?" he titled his head sweetly.

Gwen and Julie bit their lips sadly, and nodded, sniffling again. The girls gazed at the affectionate face of the sad but smiling merman, then could hold no more and burst out in tears as they jumped to hug Kanou-a together.

Kanou-a smiled again, as he wound his strong arms around the two slight forms, and embraced them warmly. "I shall miss you; the loving enthusiasm and curiosity that bubbles within you, I hope that never dies!"

A breeze whooshed through the air in the a moment of silence.

When the girls were pulling back after hugging him, Gwen asked, "W-when will we...lose our memories?" and Kanou-a answered her, "In about an hour or so. You would feel drowsy and feel the need to sleep. When you awake, you shall not know of me or anything connected to me."

Julie looked sadly at her best friend. And the later returned the gaze as well.

Kanou-a stepped back, smiling at them, and walked back to the raven who remained frozen, holding Ben in his arms.

He sacrificed his love for Ben, for them? For Ben's future?!

Kevin blinked, as the twin-like figure faced him once again, smiling, he reached out to touch Kevin. Immediately, Kevin guessed what the merman was about to do, and he stepped back softly, "N-no, wait! You don't have to erase my memory! I wanna keep it."

Kanou-a's lips parted in surprise, and the girls blinked too.

Kevin lowered his head, feeling a little stupid to be admitting it, but he spoke nonetheless, "I... you gave me a world of pain, man. But," mahogany eyes looked up to catch a pair of indigo, "But, in these few days you have been in my life, I learnt a lotta stuff; about my self, about my sexual orientation, about my love for Ben. I learnt that there are people who actually value me. I learnt that only when you came around. Especially, from that Cublor's stomach." his cheeks went a little pink as he frowned at the ground. Kanou-a smiled in good nature, feeling warm.

Kevin continued, "If-if you erase me memory of you meeting Ben, I won't know that I love him, and all the emotional progress I had made from it will be no more. It'll all be back to square one!"

Kanou-a looked at the face that now looked back. Softly, Kanou-a whispered, "But, will you manage to keep me a secret from Kirby?"

"I think yeah, I guess I'm good at keeping secrets. I kept my love for Ben as a secret from myself, that's how good I am at it!" Kevin looked away, crossly.

Kanou-a beamed slowly, and nodded, "Alright. If you are ready to breathe not a single word about myself to Kirby, then yes, I shall let you keep your memories of me."

Kevin looked at the merman, appalled at how this guy was smiling so sweet and calm even though Kevin could guess what sort of a storm of grief was brewing in the marine heart.

"Hey," Kevin bit his lip, blinking in concern that he tried to mask but failed to do so, "How are you gonna cope with this? I mean, I know what its like to be in love with someone whom you can't even show you're feelings to. How are you gonna live all your life, loving Ben but knowing that he won't even know who you are?"

Kanou-a's lips stretched a little as he smiled, "Ah, I thank you for the concern, Friend Kevin. You see, my brothers have agreed to erase my memory as well. For I am also a living being with superbly sensitive feelings if I should say so myself. And you are right when you say that I would not be able to live normally, carrying unrequited love for the now oblivious Kirby, with the pain that he does not even recognise me. So for the best for both sides, I am to sacrifice my memories of him as well. All I would know is that I had matured, but I would never know by whom." he sighed softly, the very gesture was full of deep sadness, although he was smiling, "Kirby has given me the most exhilarating moments of my life; he had showed me how fun and easy one can be, he has shown me that humans can be extremely wise and responsible, he has shown me what my body can do, even without powers and magic, the pleasure and ecstasy one can achieve. It had been a blissful group of days. But is Fate does not want us to be together, then I am no one to rebel that. I accept my release of memory, for the best of all around Kirby and for himself."

Kevin gaped literally. his eyebrows twitched in disbelief; how could this guy so easily just?... It takes a great amount of willpower to do something like this.

Kevin, as he had said, knew what the pain was like, and yet, the merman managed it. With a cheerful and brave face.

Kevin found his mouth go dry. His speechless brown eyes were gazing right into the blue that kept looking at him, since this was his last time he could see him.

"Kanou-a," Kevin looked lost and even hurt, "I thought you were gonna take him away, but you gave Ben up for us; I really dunno what to say..."

Kanou-a's face lit up; and he moved closer, lifting one wet right hand to touch the left side of Kevin's face lovingly, fingers slowly stroking the cheek, as he spoke, "Ah, you needn't say anything; you called me by my name for the first time; that shall be more than enough to please me from your side."

Kevin found himself frowning, not at the forgiving merman but at himself for having been so rude to this guy right here, who had returned Ben to him. Who had sacrificed his love, for their sake. Willingly handing ben over to him.

Kevin found his thoughts scattering as the merman moved even closer, face only inches from his, he could distinctly smell the exotic water lilies. The ravens were pressed close, with the sleeping Ben sandwiched between them. Kevin felt a shudder climb his spine, as the merman moved his face sideways as hovered his lips just beside Kevin's left ear, "Before I leave," Kanou-a whispered, his voice cool and beautiful as silk, "You must promise me one thing; you must tell Kirby that you love him."

Kevin's eyes widened. He froze, staring ahead of him at the horizon. He swallowed slowly.

Kanou-a pulled back a little, face still so very close, but now facing each other so that Kevin could hear and feel every word falling off the lips identical to his, "You must tell Kirby that you love him. Since I be no longer in his memories, he will willingly accept you, for who knows, maybe he loved me because he initially and subconsciously had feelings for you? You must not delay this; the more you pause and hesitate, the more obstacles you might face in the future. You were delayed in realising your feelings for him, which was why I managed to covet him before you could. But Fate has turned out to be kind to you; Fate has offered you a second chance, to mend everything, to create a beautiful life with Kirby. I don't want you to waste this opportunity; and you needn't worry a rejection. Kirby will love you unconditionally."

Kevin's mouth opened wider; the whole concept was now looming suddenly into him. Ben was...going to be his?

Kanou-a looked on, whispering as his long slim fingers slowly tucked a lock of Kevin's wet black hair behind his ear, "So, do you promise? To tell Kirby that you love him? As soon as possible?"

Kevin's mouth close as he whispered back, "Y-yeah, I promise."

Kanou-a smiled, and then looking down at the oblivious sleeping brunette cradled in Kevin's arms, he spoke, "Kirby is now all your's. Although my grief cannot be put into words, I am not regretful to be betrothing him to you, for I know you shall love him as much as I loved him, I know that you will love him all you can, I know that you will protect him with your life, and never let him see pain or sadness." Kevin looked back at him, a new emotion of repentance shining in the mahogany irises. Kanou-a didn't like anyone being sad for his sake, so he grinned, and whispered in a lower voice, "Oh, I think it might be of great interest to you to know that Kirby's neck is very sensitive. And so is his navel."

Kanou-a even winked suggestively at him.

Kevin's eyes went bluntly wide like a stupefied toddler, his cheeks suddenly dark pink.

Kanou-a smiled wider, feeling happy.

He then blinked down at Kirby and looked back up at the brown eyes, biting his lips indescicively, "Uh, since you have all the right over Kirby now, may I ask you, to grant me one last wish?"

Kevin blinked at the familiar request, his face feeling hot at the manner Fate had flipped him and his 'twin' in this game. "Oh, I know what you're wish is. Go ahead, it's the least I can do to let you know we appreciate your sacrifice, Kanou-a."

Kanou-smiled in gratitude. He looked back down at the sleeping brunette, feeling his eyes burn in silent tears. He reached out and brushed back the brown fringe on the forehead, and dipped his head to slowly rest his closed lips over Ben's. He only stayed for a moment, as he whispered with his lips still on Ben's, "Farewell, beloved Kirby."

Pulling back, Kanou-a smiled, feeling his lips tingle merely at the touch of it against Ben's full ones, but momentarily sad he would never get to experience the soft luscious lips ever again. However, he was glad to see no emotion of anger, jealousy or irritation on Kevin's face. In fact, Kevin looked peacefully confused but sad; it was a big difference from the usually pissed-off expression he always wore. Now, Kevin looked more like Kanou-a.

The merman leaned in and pressed his left cheek to Kevin's left cheek, whispering, "Farewell, Friend Kevin."

Kevin blushed in reply, a heavy weight sinking in the middle of his chest. He hung his head a little, feeling a mix of emotions, so many that he couldn't even count or name them.

Kanou-a pulled back, lifting his hand to hold Kevin's chin up, and gave him a final smile before retreating and pulling away, hand outstretched where he had been touching Kevin's face.

The merman stepped backwards a few, such that now, he could see the girls in his vision as well. He took a deep breath and let it out bravely, his chest inflating in dignity and pride as he called out in soft, polite tones, "I, Kanou-a, the Fourth Prince of the Ocean, thank you all, for having been a part of my life, however short the part has been. Even though sadly we may not know each other after this day, (except Friend Kevin of course), I shall today pray to all the Gods I know that you all be safe and live long. My mating ceremony happens soon, so I shall find myself a spouse and rule my kingdom to move on and be a good ruler as how Kirby wanted me to be. Grant me leave, beloved friends."

The girls sobbed, their lower lips twitching as they swiped at their noses with handkerchiefs. They looked at Kanou-a sadly and he returned the looks with a soft smile of farewell. Slowly, he swung his face to Kevin, who looked at a loss, still finding the truth and realisation too tough and sudden to be digested.

Kanou-a stepped backwards, and backwards, eyes not leaving the three and the little sleeping beauty, till he now stood on the surface of the water. He stood with his long, damp, black hair billowing sideways in a strong breeze, the dangling strips moss at his hips fluttering a little, as did his fins. The crown glowed as he raised his hands at his either sides, making long coils of swirling water to rise up around him from the surface of the Ocean.

The last thing the teens saw of him was his sad melancholic smile, and the glitter of tears in his shining indigo irises, before the coils wound around him, to engulf him in a small tornado and then it completely disintegrated, leaving only a shower of sparkling water drops shining in the sunlight.

Gone. He was gone, forever.

The silence swept in the air, save for the swishing of the breeze or the soft crashing of waves on the shore. Seagulls cackled from above, winds sang softly everywhere. Silent sobs of the girls hiccupped in the air too.

Kevin stood there, unable to hold in what had just happened, he just stood there, frozen, facing the horizon, hair fluttering in the breeze, arms holding the sleeping brunette like a bride, both their clothes were a little worn out and torn from their fights since morning, but Kevin's was far more in a torn sate owing to his experience in the Cublor's stomach.

Slowly, his legs shook as he realised...Ben was now all his.

No more pain. No more crescent burns. No more blunt fantasising. No more sleepless nights. No more heartaches.

All his. All his.

His knees gave away as he sank to the sandy shore, gasping a little at the heavy weight of truth pushing down on him, and the halo of happiness that slowly seeped into his shocked system. He sat on folded knees, and lowered Ben's legs. He slowly wound his arms around the sleeping Ben's shoulder, one hand supporting the small head that he pressed to his own, his forehead on the soft brown hair, his heart drumming, lungs heaving. Eyes closed, he shut out the world and listened only to the beats of his heart, and sounds of Ocean that seemed to be symbolic of Kanou-a who had willingly given him the greatest gift ever possible.

Ben.

All his.

All his.

The girls watched the sight of Kevin sunken on the ground on his knees, hugging his beloved Ben as if he wanted to do that for all of eternity, and never let go.

Kevin finally had reached his happy ending, as prophesised by the Gypsy lady.

Kevin looked up at the sky, blue like Kanou-a's eyes, vast expanse, forgiving, loving, protective, powerful, all seeing. His brown eyes shone in gratitude as he whispered...

"I promise... to love Ben, to never let him be sad, never let him go. I'll be here for him, always. Always right here, just beside him, forever."

o.o.o

Baby I'm here, I'm here to stay, I ain't going nowhere; I know you're scared, 'cause you've been hurt, baby, it's all right;

Lost in your eyes, every time, that you look in mine; promise to be all that you need, I won't leave you, baby, no;

I just wanna love you, I would never ever put nobody up above you; I just wanna kiss you, baby, I just wanna hug you till the end, baby, till the end.

Cause I'm right, right here, ain't nobody gonna hold you; 'cause i'm right, right here; ain't nobody gon' control you;

'cause I'm right, right here, yeah; I'm right here, I'm right here, I'm right here, I'm right here, yeaaah.

- End of Chapter -

---

pls don't kill me for kanoua's sacrifice; its the way this story shud end somehow, its just the way it shud, coz any other ending wud seems too cliché or generic. :)

Ok, now its bad-news time. :(

sniff sniff, this is official the second to last chapter of this story, I duuno whn I will be able to post the 22nd chapter,coz...im going away too, like kanou-a, on an indefinite hiatus from 5th april, due to family situations. I dunno whn I will be able to post anything, its unsure, maybe next week? next month? next year? next day? dunno. I am so sad. its bad news, so fucking bad news T_T

:( I will miss you all! D:

oh and I shud let you all knw, that I have also planned an epilogue, we shud knw wht kanou-a is doing right? just before this amazingly supported story of mine comes to an end. I hate it whn character are left loveless :'P

thnk you all, I don't even know most of you personally, in fact I dunno ANY of you personally, yet the support and reviews you all give me, make us close knit and bonded, beyond words. ok now im sounding like kanou-a (TT_TT) hope u don't think im cheesy :(

I hope, by gods grace, somehow I will manmage an update in a few days, could pop up any time, so just watch out ok?

review nonetheless! I love you all! mwaaah! (sniffles sadly)

[credits: Justin Beiber's new song Right Here. whn I first heard it, this chapter tht I had planned long time ago came up and I decided to feature it. sounds really fitting dontchya think?:D]