Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter! I'm really really sorry for the delay, though. I know it's short for something you guys waited over two weeks for, but I promise I'll make it up to you guys. (:

Chapter 24: Deception

"Okay, now, one.. two.. three!"

Brynga gripped her sword and dived into the obstacle course. She bolted for the center of the battlefield, her senses heightened. It was barren, like usual, but not for long, of course.

Ulrich pressed a few buttons, and a wooden puppet rose from the ground, just mere centimeters away from Brynga's foot. She jumped in surprise, but was able to recover quickly. Before its arm was able to hit her side, she stepped away and swiftly swung her sword with all the force she could. She beheaded it, the fallen extremity hitting the ground with a resounding thump.

Another, and then another rose from the ground -one behind her, the other up front. Both of the obstacles begun to spin quickly, ready to slam Brynga to the ground with their elongated arms. But, of course, Brynga was easily able to avoid them. She promptly fell to the ground on her belly and rolled to the side to get herself out of the death trap. Then, she popped right back up and brought the puppets to their 'deaths' with the fall of a blade.

Instantly, without even a mere warning, a laser then followed and whizzed past Brynga's ear, barely singeing her golden locks of hair. Frowning in annoyance, she turned her head to find several laser cannons mounted up on the walls. She smirked a bit. Bringing up her sword to defend herself, she used it to intercept the beams, and they thankfully dissipated on contact. When the barrage ended, she sighed in relief and part exhaustion.

Ulrich nodded in approval, a tiny smile on his face. "Great job, Brynga," he said.

The Icelandic turned her head his way and flashed a smile back. "Thank you," she answered.

There was a pause, the whisper of wind the only thing breaking the silence. Before she knew it, Brynga found herself to be looking at Ulrich a little too intently, and noticed that his face was slightly crestfallen. Shaking her head, she slowly walked over to him. "I know that Yumi leaving is hard," she began, placing a compassionate hand on his shoulder. Once again, he turned away, but she continued. "It's even harder to know that she wasn't the one who told you she was leaving." She moved her gaze away from him and sighed. "But to tell you the truth, she isn't really worth it if she was going to keep something this crucial from you."

Ulrich's eyes flashed with anger at the mere statement. He whipped his head in Brynga's direction. "And how do you know, huh?" he asked abrasively, narrowing his eyes. "You know nothing about us!"

Brynga's eyebrow twitched from the statement. It pierced her a little. She took a deep breath, and said faintly, "I know you two liked each other.. a lot. I know she meant a lot to you, and that you thought you meant a lot to her. But think, Ulrich. She never told you she was leaving."

"She probably just wanted to protect me-"

"And hurt you badly in the process?" Brynga asked. "Yumi never explained to anyone why. Have you even realized that she has been acting so bizarre, lately?"

Ulrich cocked his head to the side, and thought a bit. "Yes, if you think about it a little."

Brynga nodded. "And do you know why?"

"No," Ulrich answered coldly. "I tried to ask her, but she told me that she can't tell me, or anyone, why."

Away from Ulrich's line of sight, Brynga couldn't help but smirk a little. "Face it Ulrich," she replied coldly. "She's only been keeping secrets..."

Ulrich sighed, and his heart dropped at the cold realization. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Brynga was right. Maybe he should just put Yumi behind him, and begin to look forward to working with Brynga. She was replacing Yumi, so Ulrich was probably going to have to spend a lot of time with her.

Almost as much time as he spent with Yumi.

Looking at her golden hair, deep, clear green eyes, and model's body, and realizing her pure sympathy and compassion towards him, Ulrich couldn't help but slightly shiver.

Brynga was almost as beautiful as Yumi.

"At a time like this," she lastly added, "keeping secrets from each other isn't the way to go when all you want is to stay and work together."

"And... there!" A blonde capped the pen with a click and turned away from the whiteboard, flashing a smile towards Jeremie. On it was drawn the blueprints of a GPS gun, impeccably organized and detailed. "What do you think?"

Jeremie's blue eyes quickly brightened, but they were edged with nervousness. Once again, the mere mention of a gun managed to bring shivers down his spine. "U-um, that's great, Laura!" he complimented, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "I really hope it works..." he then muttered, slouching against his chair.

Laura nodded enthusiastically. "I know that guns aren't exactly something we should be using," she began. "But, really, it's not like we're using it to shoot deadly projectiles across the room."

"Yes, of course," Jeremie replied, swallowing hard. "We can begin on it tomorrow."

Once Laura left, Aelita entered his room with a small smile. At the sight of her, Jeremie instantly got up from his chair. He was surprised, to say the least. More so alarmed. "What's up, Aelita?" He clutched his chest and swallowed hard -the mere sight of her hurt him a lot, knowing that he might never be able to love her again. Now, only pauses and long silences filled most of their conversations, which teared at both of their hearts.

That was when Jeremie noticed that Aelita was hiding something behind her back. He gave her a questioning look, and her smile tentatively brightened in response. "Here," she said, showing him a pile of folded clothes. "I picked these for you. It didn't seem like the designer had good enough choices."

Jeremie gingerly took them with a thankful smile. "Why, thanks, Aelita," he replied. He readjusted his glasses for a moment. It was a flannel shirt and a pair of loose jeans. "I like these a lot."

"I'll miss you for the next few weeks," Aelita brought up, shifting her gaze to the side. Before the duel, the Queen and the duelers were to be separated, for the sake of 'surprise.' It was another one of the government's absurd rules. A look of apprehension occupied her features. "And... this will probably be our last moment before we break up... for good. Jeremie, I- I want to remember this last moment. The two of us."

Aelita looked up again to meet Jeremie's blue eyes. She bit her lip as she stared longingly at his. Then, not thinking even the slightest bit, Aelita wrapped her hands around the collar of his shirt and pulled him in. She wanted to do anything to breathe him in, to touch him before their separation.

Like that, she kissed him.

Meanwhile, Jeremie was more than obliged to pull her in until their bodies were touching, wanting to be as close to her as he could. He wanted to do anything to wash the worries away just for a moment. He wanted her -the both of them, more so- to feel better.

Author's Note: I'm really really sorry for the long delay, guys. I just needed some time to relax, for there had been so many contradicting thoughts in my mind that I just couldn't sort out. It got even worse because it was all myself and in my mind. Things that had nothing to do with this story got.. complicated. I wasn't able to eat as much, and I had a fluctuating headache for days. To top it all off, insults from my parents have really taken a toll on my self-esteem. They've been telling me how I'm not exactly a very nice person, and that nothing kind ever comes out of my mouth.. I don't even know where they got those ideas from.. I apologize if this chapter wasn't very good -it's all I can do for now. I have been working on other parts, though, which I find to be very good. So look forward to that! :)

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave a review! :) I'll be sure to have the next chapter up in less than a week, if everything settles down.