Someone asked the magic question! Am I doing a Megaforce fic like this? Hm... I don't know. A lot of authors that have Samurai stories like this made their stories while the season was still going on. I didn't post this story until there were 2(?) episodes left of the season. But I'm thinking of doing one-shot(s) for Megaforce. I'm not promising anything. I'm just thinking about it…
And thanks to the reviewer that asked that question! I read your review before I went to bed and I went from tired and pissed off to bouncy and joyful! :D
New Chapter Time! This chapter came out way longer than I thought it would… Enjoy! :D
Another day passed. Emily, Mike, Lauren, and Cody sat back where they started, the lake. It was a very windy day. The cool breeze blew though their hair and sweaty clothes as they watched the sun set in the lake. They all felt defeated. Neither of them knew what to do. Mia is living on the edge of death and there was nothing they could do about it.
Emily, Mike, and Lauren have known the pink samurai for a long time. And although they were separated for three years and didn't exactly share the same blood, they were still the tightest family ever. The samurais stuck together like glue.
Cody met Mia a couple of months ago at her baby shower. He also broke up with Lauren at the baby shower. So he didn't see Mia again until two weeks later when he made up with Lauren at Mike and Emily's wedding. A week after the wedding, Cody saw Mia at the "Memily Welcome Home Party" but she never spoke to him. She barely spoke to anyone that day because she was so mad about being confined in a wheelchair. Then he finally got to exchange a few words with her during her seventh month of pregnancy. Mia seems like a sweet woman to Cody so even though he doesn't exactly know her enough to say he cares about her, he wants her alive.
"It sure is breezy out here." Emily said. A pebble formed in her palm with symbol power. She tossed it in the lake. "Mia would love it."
Mike nodded. "I remember, back when we were rangers, she would run around the park yelling and laughing on windy days."
"People at the park kept on staring at her like she was crazy." Emily giggled softly but then she frowned. "I can't believe we searched this entire forest and still didn't find the black flower."
Lauren played with her fingers nervously. Cody noticed his girlfriend's nervousness and rubbed her back gently.
"You're not the reason why Mia is dying." Cody had to tell Lauren this several times daily because she still felt guilty about not being able to save Mia with her powers.
"I know." Lauren stood up from sitting on the bench and began to walk toward some bushes. "There's one place in this forest that we haven't checked."
The wind and water samurai newborn cried.
Kevin didn't know what to do anymore. He fed her, changed her diaper, stuck a pacifier in her mouth, and rocked her in her swing without a break. His arms were tired but he wasn't going to give up so easily. Obviously, his daughter is highly upset about something but Kevin doesn't know what it is. Catherine explained to him that sometimes babies just cried for no apparent reason. It was driving him crazy though. She's been fussing since she woke up an hour ago. Newborns are only supposed to stay up for no more than two hours.
Still attempting to hush the agitated child in his arms, Kevin walked around the entire Shiba house, in and out the doors and hallways, in hopes of putting her back to sleep. Finally, he took a break in the kitchen. Jayden and Antonio were already in the kitchen, making dinner for everyone. Kevin could tell they were trying their best not to show their annoyance for the child wailing in his arms.
Antonio made his way to the distressed father and placed a glass of water on the dining table in front of him. "I can try to calm her down for you."
"It's fine…"
"No, it's not." Jayden spoke up from the stove he was watching over. "You're too stressed out right now. It's just making her more upset. Babies are very good on picking up their parents' emotions."
"I know." Kevin sighed and rolled his eyes. How did Jayden know that stuff anyways? He brought his daughter's head up to his shoulder and began to rub her back. "I'm her father. I can handle this."
"Remind me how long she's been crying again?" Jayden retorted. Kevin gave him a hurt look. The red samurai quickly regretted it as the baby's cry grew louder. He softened his voice. "Please make us help you buddy."
"She's safe with me. I promise." Antonio told Kevin. "If I drop her, you can kick my ass across the Atlantic Ocean."
Kevin looked at Antonio and Jayden. Then, he looked at his screaming baby. Antonio and Jayden are like brothers to him. Without having to tell them, the fire and light samurais knew they got the uncle roles in his daughter's life.
"Don't make me kick your ass across the world." Kevin glared at Antonio before passing the newborn to him. "Got it?"
"Si." Antonio cradled the newborn in his arm on his way out the kitchen. "Come on little one. You'll see Daddy again after a long nap in Uncle Antonio's bedroom. I hope you like guitars."
Lauren brought Cody, Mike, and Emily to her favorite place in the forest - where her parents are buried. As the usual the tall tree above her parents' graves was shedding its white flowers. Emily opened up the palm of her hand like a princess, letting the delicate white flowers fall gracefully into her reach.
"Wow…" Emily gasped in astonishment. "This is beautiful."
"It's almost unreal." Mike stared at nature's beauty in amazement. It had to be some kind of forest samurai record to see something so lovely.
"Jayden never brought you guys here?" Lauren asked the couple. She thought they knew about this place. They knew more about her room than she did before moving back in the Shiba house.
"No, Jayden rarely went outside unless there was a nighlok attack." Mike told her.
"Ha, my brother was such a loner." Lauren smiled to herself. "I really shouldn't be smiling. I was so much worse than him." She shook head as she said that, reminding herself of her life when she was in hiding.
"Um, aren't we supposed to be looking for something?" Cody cleared his throat, bringing everyone out of their thoughts. The sun was going down so it wouldn't be too long until they were left in the dark. And although the forest they were in didn't have much animals, being in the forest at night, wasn't always a very wise idea.
Emily was the first person to get work. She looked up at the massive tree. Most, if not all, of the flowers were white but that didn't mean the black flower wasn't hiding somewhere in the tree. Mike was right behind her. He pulled out a pair at binoculars to zoom into the tree's leaves. Cody and Lauren, having no skill when it came to nature, searched the ground. Ji and the Healing Symbol Power book didn't specify if the flower grew on a tree or the ground.
"Go to sleep. Go to sleep…" Antonio trailed of in his song and placed his guitar beside the samurai newborn on his bed. "You're not making this easy, you know. Good girls sleep like angels and don't give Daddy or Uncle Antonio trouble. Did you know that?"
The baby's brown eyes gazed up her uncle's tall body. She wasn't crying anymore but she was still obviously very upset. Antonio picked her up and sat at his desk by the window. He opened the window slightly. He made sure the cold evening wind wasn't blowing on his niece's face. He didn't want her getting sick. She didn't have a strong immune system yet.
"That should cool down this hot room." Antonio slowly rocked the child in his arms. "Your mom really loves the wind. I think you will too. It can be nice. Sometimes I like the wind beating on my face when I'm fishing."
The little child made a sound. Antonio looked down to see the wind and water samurai making herself comfortable in his arms. She was closing her eyes to sleep again. Antonio grinned.
"Easy breezy..."
Fifteen minutes later, Cody found himself smiling like an idiot. And come to think of it, he felt like an idiot. The black flower was right in front of his face. This had to be a trick. It couldn't be this easy. If the black flower was an animate object with a mouth, it would be laughing hysterically at him and the samurais.
"Guys…" Cody waved the samurais over to a spot close to the tree that hovered over Lauren's parents' graves. "I… I found it."
"No. Way." Lauren's mouth dropped open when she saw the flower. It was out in the open. Not a single bush or weed covering it. "You… You…" Lauren jumped into Cody's arms and kissed him multiple times.
Mike looked at Emily to make sure she was okay. Cody, who isn't even a samurai, found the black flower. Emily was crying just a couple of days ago about being an Earth samurai and not being able to find the magical flower. Now Emily had tears in her eyes again. Mike gave her a gentle squeeze.
"Imagine if we didn't allow Lauren in the search." Mike whispered into her ear.
"I'm happy." Emily shook her head. "Mia's going to live."
Mike kissed her cheek and stared at the black flower. It's… well, black. It seemed like it could rip easily though. Mike didn't want to tear the flower before it got to Mia. That could cause many problems. "So… how do we get it to Ji?" He asked.
"I have an old shoe box in my car." Cody said. "We could dig it up with some dirt and carry it to the house."
"I like that idea." Emily turned her attention to Mike. "Don't we have some gardening tools in the car?"
"Yes, we do." Mike nodded. "You stay here with Lauren and I will go get supplies with Cody."
"Sounds like a plan."
At the Shiba house, there was peace and quiet for a couple of minutes. But their silence ended just as it was about to get good. After Antonio finally got the newborn to sleep, he placed her in her swing in Kevin's room. From then on, Kevin watched over her as she slept while getting some sleep himself. But unfortunately, both of their slumber was interrupted when Jayden accidentally dropped a pan. Kevin's room was close to the kitchen so it was loud enough to wake his daughter.
So again, Kevin attempted to hush his daughter. It's a good thing she didn't cry very loud because if she did, Kevin was sure he'd be deaf by the time she stopped. He walked into the living room and sat on the couch. Suddenly, the door flied open and Emily, Mike, Lauren, and Cody rushed into the house. Lauren was the first the recognize Kevin. She whispered something into Mike's ear and went off with Cody to find Ji and Catherine so they could start preparing the medicine for Mia.
"Kev…" Mike began but he wasn't quite sure what to say. He deserted him with Emily and never contacted him or even congratulated him on his first child.
"Where have you guys been?" Kevin questioned them. Mike and Emily didn't answer. The blue samurai hugged his daughter close to his chest. "Where have you guys been, huh? I needed you. Your goddaughter needed you. What type of godparents are you two anyways?" Kevin shook his head and walked off to his room, giving the young couple a cold shoulder.
"Mike?"
"He'll thank us later Em." Mike wrapped his arms around his wife. "Dry your tears. Mia's going to live."
About an hour and a half later, Mia was already awake. Like expected, the black flower worked in less than twenty-four hours. Catherine and Ji left her after injecting her with a black liquid. They don't know that she's awake. No one does.
Mia lied in bed, confused. She remembered everything that happened before she passed out. She gave birth. But… where's her daughter? Where's Kevin? How long has she been out and what day is it?
All of these questions frustrated her.
Very carefully, Mia allowed her feet to touch the wooden floor. She stomped in a place before taking her first step. It felt… good. She hasn't been on her feet in weeks. She also hasn't walked on her own in months. The pink samurai walked over to the glass door that led to the front porch and stared at her faint reflection. She still had on her silk night gown. The way she looked made her pout but that didn't matter right now. She heard crying – a baby's crying. So unless it's another nine months later, Mia's pretty certain that's her baby's crying.
Her baby. She's a mother. The fact just hit her.
Mia didn't waste any more time. Her daughter's crying only grew louder every minute. She opened the door and walked into the hallway quietly. There was no one in the hallway. A small smile formed on Mia's lips. That was a good sign to her. She didn't want anyone especially Ji or Catherine catching her out of bed. It would only hold her back from seeing her daughter.
Finally, Mia made it to where she wanted to be. She kept her back close to the wall next to the door leading to her bedroom with Kevin and her daughter inside. Mia didn't want to expose herself just yet. She needed to know what was going on before she made random accusations.
"Shh… Mommy is going to wake up soon. We'll be a happy family together. I promise. Just please stop crying. Please…"
Mia's heart sank. That was Kevin's voice. His voice sounded hoarse like he's been crying himself. And she's right. Kevin had tears pouring out of his eyes. Mia stepped into the room and placed a gentle hand on Kevin's shoulder. Kevin looked up at her startled.
"Mia?"
"Yeah?" Mia whispered.
"There's someone I'd like you to meet."
With that being said, Kevin placed their daughter in Mia's arms. Mia felt herself tearing up like her daughter and husband. She ran her fingers though her daughter's thin, black hair and trailed down to her cheek. Mia gazed into the baby's light, brown eyes and had a good look at the tiny body in her arms.
"She's beautiful." Mia kissed her daughter's head. "What did you name her?"
"Breezie."
