CCS does not belong to me.
And yet...
"So, I guess we have to head home now." Vash said, watching the crowd disappear.
"I guess so." Nakita said, sitting down with the rest of the group in a semi-circle. For the last half hour, Vash had been taking autographs due to his address, and two dwarfs had come to the fountain, and placed on the mound where the statue had been standing, a brass sign that said, "Ogsville."
"Who would come up with a name such as Ogsville?" Doughboy asked as Vash signed the autograph of a little boy dwarf.
"I think it's cute." I protested.
"So do I." Rene said. "Ogsville, a name out of no where-"
"You've got that correct, all right." Doughboy said. "And if it's out of nowhere, it's also out of nowhere of importance."
"But Vash's brain." Rene finished. "And I happen to think there's a lot of stuff in that brain of his."
"Unlike yours, which is microscopic." Kanari said. All the girls started giggling. Doughboy grunted and said something nasty about Vash.
"How can you, or ANYONE, in that case, be so insensitive?" Nakita wondered. "Just look at Vash, signing autographs, listening and taking in all the insults! Have you no shame, Doughboy?" Doughboy turned red. No one knew that by this time, Vash, turned around where they could not see him, had a huge smile on his face. It was one thing to be said about when Doughboy was the one saying it, and those bitter insults continued, which made Vash want to turn around and bash him with a lead pipe, but it was another when all the girls were defending him.
"I noticed you didn't mention the battles and all the horrors we went through in that address of yours." Doughboy said. Vash slowly turned around as the last of the dwarfs returned to their homes.
"I see no need to." Vash said. "They all have their pain stakes, some have lost family members or loved ones, and they have all played an important part. Why bring back those horrible memories? Why tell them ours, to make them feel worse?" Vash's words had a strong emotion behind them, as if concealing something. "No." He said softly. "We all worked together in this, and there is absolutely no need to be reminded. Memories, even the bad ones, need to be cherished one day, need to be remembered. It's not good to forget how someone you loved died. But not now, not in a few days, but someday, when perhaps the scars heal."
"And you will remember." Kelli finished. "Remember those fun times you had, forget how they parted, because that doesn't matter anymore, and what does matter is your memories of that person, and what fun and joy you had; that's what really counts." Vash turned his head and met Kelli's gaze.
"I will remember."
There was a moment of grand silence, as the sun set over the horizon, and I felt nothing could be better.
"It doesn't get much better than this." I said. "You're with your friends, your heart has just been touched, and the whole world is in everlasting peace."
"Anybody ready to go back to bed?" Clay the Elder said.
"I don't think I can stand another night down there." Kanari said. "Gag me with a fur ball as you might, I can't stand the pressure in that place anymore."
"What pressure?" Kelli and Vash both asked.
"Air pressure." Kanari said. "It's so low down there, with artificial lighting and everything! Reminds me of a cave, and I never liked cages."
"Then think of how all those dwarfs must feel, to be down there for years." Mr. Clay said. Kanari was quiet, once again.
"Is it possible that we could camp out here the last night we're staying?" Snowy asked.
"This is our last night?" Doughboy cried. "Yes!" Vash and Kelli exchanged looks, and Nakita sighed and shook her head at Doughboy (which made his sigh and feel grumpy, thinking, "Why can't I ever please her?).
"Please do." Kelli said. "Our last night here, we shall leave tomorrow night."
"Yes, after the boat is complete, we shall say goodbye to everyone and everything on this planet, and then we shall leave to go to the Third Dimension." Vash said. Catching Clay the Elder's gaze, he added, "Of course we'll wait for Genesis to come, and also come to visit."
"Lair will be buried tomorrow." Clay the Elder said. "We will meet at the town cemetery at seven, two hours before Genesis is scheduled to land. The boat shall be completed before them."
"Yes sir." Snowy agreed. "And I can create a tent and I have Liz's rapier." Snowy held up the rapier in one hand and the wand in another.
"I have something to give." Clay the Elder said. He reached out and placed a sword in front of us.
"Another sword?" I asked.
"An epee." Clay the Elder said, talking it out of the sheath. "A three bladed sword."
"Who is it for?" Vash asked. "Kelli, Yuki, and I already have our swords."
"Whoever you want." Clay the Elder took Mr. Clay's arm and they floated off like ghosts into the sky. We watched them off.
"Nakita, do you want it?" Vash asked.
"I'm pretty comfortable, as I have Cherry and my bells." Nakita replied gently.
"Rene?"
"Well, I have my power hoops and broomstick already, you know." Rene replied.
"Yeah, Snowy?"
"Sorry Vash, I already have too many spells to remember with this wand than time to practice fencing."
"Er, Kanari?"
"Nah, Vash, I don't like the fighting thing in the first place, and though I'm willing to do it, I don't think I'm willing to stab somebody with a sword, something Liz wasn't exactly willing to do in the first place. And besides, I like my weapon, and even though Nakita and I can make someone deaf and blind, you can't really see those effects."
"Then who? Oh, wait, Doughboy?" Vash asked, eyebrows raised in doubt.
"I'll take it." Doughboy said, reaching forward.
"Doughboy, number one, you can't even hold it, it's too heavy, and number two, you can't possibly fence, it's for someone with a more slender body, someone who can bounce around more." I protested.
"He does need more of a weapon, though." Vash said. "He can literally do nothing in this group, heavens knows why he's still with us, all he can do is be a nuisance and float around."
"He makes, er, as a target and distraction for an enemy." Rene suggested. "I mean, they can aim for him cause he's so feeble and we can attack from behind."
"Oh yes, bait." Vash said. "Afraid I forgot about it."
"I don't want the sword anymore." Doughboy said curtly.
"All right." Vash held it out. "Somebody, please."
"Snowy?" Rene asked. "Do you want me to carry Snowy's rapier so you can work your magic better?"
"Well, I'm pretty much getting used to being really heavy on one side, but yes, I'd be more than glad to have you take it." Snowy said, giving it to Rene.
"And I'll be free to carry the epee, make it a less of a burden for Vash." Nakita said.
"Too bad those can't shrink like mine does." I said, pulling out my necklace, looking at it, and then pulling out the Sword Card. We giggled and started for the meadows, which Snowy noted would be a good place to spend the night, remembering all the battles that had happened on those grounds.
"It's settled then." Vash said. "Let's go."
* * *
The ship building process was something I hated, that continued for most of the day, and finally finished when the day ended at six. The boards were all done and painted and polished, and the last of the workers were all rearranging the furniture in their room. The rubble left over from the castle had been searched for anything valuable and burned, leaving nothing but a pile of ashes.
"All memories gone, no hard feelings anyone." Doughboy announced, walking circles around us. Nakita stopped him.
"The memories aren't gone, and will never be gone, just the structure, and the past will truly be gone." She said.
"Too true, the past goes too." Vash said, walking from the rubble into the town. "Come on. They expanded it more today, and the cemetery has been decorated with flowers."
"I think I cemetery should be a nice place, a place to remember and to be remembered." I said. "Why does everyone hate cemeteries so and think that they have ghosts?"
"Cause most of them didn't die naturally." Kelli said. "Come." We entered the cemetery, still half an hour early, watching as they set out the places. We went up to the open casket and looked in. Lair, her flaming red hair and her blue eyes, still wide awake. She looked so real; as if you reached out a hand and touched her she would spring back alive again. I frowned. She seemed so real.
Vash gripped the side of the casket.
"I will remember you, whatever happens." He said. He blew a kiss into the casket, and Kelli joined him. The rest of us, one by one (with Doughboy in the lead) slowly retreated to our seats, saving two for Kelli and Vash.
When they finally returned, the ceremony began.
I don't know what struck me as so amazing, whether the fact that I had seen a dead corpse (yeah, I know, all corpses are dead) or the fact that I had seen a funeral, both for the first time, but it was just so sad, with the dwarf up there talking. Trying not to cry, the funeral service went by too quickly, and when the casket was lowered into the ground, and two dwarfs started to bury it, I stood up.
"Lair wasn't the evil person you all thought her to be." I started, shakily, trembling. Vash looked up in surprise, and the dwarfs stopped burying. "She may have been possessed in evil, but she was really a good person to start with, and a good person may she end with. She made a great deal many mistakes, and had to pay for them, but whatever you may say about her, whatever you say bad about her, how she was responsible of all this evil, remember one thing. We are all born equal, we are all born innocent, and whatever happens, you have the choice in what you chose to do in life, and you make the decisions and things happen." I literally stopped and broke down there. And then I caught my voice. There was still something to say, something to get my point across, and I knew all the rest of them were silently urging me to say it. My voice came from far away, as if a distant spirit was lifting it, and I found the words forming at the top of my tongue.
"Behind every villain, there is a soul; behind every hero, there is a choice; and behind every battle, there is a destiny."
"And there always will be." Vash said, standing up. He waked over to the dwarfs. "Let me bury her." The dwarfs put down their shovels, and Vash stood there, by himself, and, putting his whole heart into it, buried Lair.
"I think it's a sign of forgiveness, acceptance." Kelli said as Vash finished and laid the shovel down, and the crowd, overcome with emotion, started to depart. "Thank you Yuki."
"I don't know what happened, or what came over me." I said, scratching the back of my head. Vash smiled.
"That's all right, because you did the right thing, and I think that everyone will, somehow, not hate Lair anymore." He stopped and we watched the two dwarfs come and place the stone on top of the place she was buried. After they left, people started to put flowers on it.
"We don't need flowers." Kelli said. "We never will, because we have our love, love for her." With an arm around Vash, they disappeared into the town.
"Aw, how sweet, sister and brother." Rene said, joining me.
"I wonder how it is to have siblings." I said.
"Believe me, you don't want to know." Snowy said, approaching. We all exchanged smiles.
"Let's go." Nakita said. Cherry was even crying openly now.
* * *
"You always forget us, Yuki." Kero whined. Suppi was laughing on the ground.
"Oh, sorry." I said.
"Kelli left Anora in the mansion too." Suppi said. "But Nakita remembered Cherry." I sighed.
"Well, I have to thank Clay the Elder for bringing you two out here and for all he's done for us." I said. "Come." I took one in each hand and started towards the others.
There were all watching the town, which seemed to be swallowed up in a purple bubble, still on the ground, like a massive dome that was protection it. The boat was already in the air, and the last workers were boarding it and raveling the ladder up.
"What's going to happen?" I asked.
"Well, it's more than likely that we'll be thrown off the planet and then, we will get up and say goodbye and go home." Vash said dryly.
"Vash and I have already said our goodbyes to everything and everyone, with the exception of Clay the Elder and Mr. Clay and the head of the army of dwarfs." Kelli said. "Look up there." She pointed among the stars, and I saw a great, massive, orange ball coming towards Uri.
"It really isn't orange, is it?" Rene asked. "I mean, it looks like it's full of gas, or like Venus and Saturn's surfaces!"
"I believe those are just clouds, and that there's really something good underneath." Kelli said. "Speaking of clouds." She looked around. "Clay the Elder has one last task for us."
"Uh-oh." Kanari said.
"Well, Genesis has a ton of clouds, and Uri didn't have any to start with, but when Queen Jewel came, she produced all this." Kelli said. "So if we could just fly over the clouds, and scatter this (she held up a bag) over it, they will break down and disappear and become minerals."
"You're joking, right?" Doughboy said. "Never before has anything been able to break down clouds and turn them into minerals."
"We're talking Uri here." Vash said.
"And then Uri will be clear of clouds, and the ones from Genesis will move over, so the whole planet, or should I say, planets, will be equal." Kelli said, clasping her hands together. "What do you think?"
"I have a question." I said. "How are we going to get above the clouds, build a spaceship?"
"Oh, just like in the shows and cartoons!" Doughboy said. We all stared at him. "What?"
"The procedure is very hard." Vash said, suddenly in serious mode. "Just four of us will go. When Genesis lands, we will be thrown several feet into the air, which gives the four of us a boost, and we can reach the clouds when Genesis throws us into the air. We have to have wings, however, so I can't go." He looked somewhat disappointed. "The rest of us will be in the meadow, and thrown up and will hopefully land on the tall grass and flowers." He looked around. "Who volunteers to go?"
"I will." I said. Kero and Suppi, followed by Anora, flew over to Vash. Kelli nodded.
"So will I."
"Why can't I just use my bubble and fly up there?" Doughboy said. "I've never really tested how far up I can go."
"Because your bubble is too slow and the air pressure will get to you and you might fall and crush us." Vash replied. "All right, Snowy. Rene, your wings are too little to go. One more person, please." Nakita and Kanari looked at each other.
"Take care of Cherry for me, Kanari." Nakita said, handing over Cherry.
"All right, we're ready." Kelli said. "Keep your fist closed." She poured some white powder into our hands. "That is, until we get up there." She said with a wink. "Make sure you don't open up your fists when the blast comes." We nodded.
"Coming in two minutes." Vash said. We waited in somewhat, silence. Clay the Elder was keeping the people and dwarfs safe with his powers. "Ten, nine, eight-"
"Feel like I'm going on a space voyage." Snowy said, looking at the pile of weapons (the rapier and epee especially) we had left with the others for safekeeping.
"Make sure that the swords don't fly out of the sheath." Kelli said. I closed my eyes, and remembered that I needed to see. Waiting for the blast, I held my breath.
"Four, three, two, one." There was an earthly groan, followed by a crunch, and I felt myself being tossed in the air.
"Now!" Kelli screamed, and our wings all came out. Flapping wildly, trying to fight against gravity and the groaning earth, we rose higher and higher. The air was getting to me, and I felt as if we would never reach the clouds. But we got somewhat three feet on top of them and scattered the powder.
"Don't worry, it'll spread." Kelli said.
"Oh!" Nakita said, and that moment she seemed to have fainted, her body suspended, and lying on her back, she began to spin.
"Quick, there isn't much time!" Kelli said. I didn't understand how she could speak at a time like this. But grabbing Nakita, along with the other three, I realized that Kelli must have experience. I was blacking out quickly, and Snowy was gasping.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Vash, Rene, Kanari, and Doughboy, carrying the Blue Mist, Lovely Violet, Liz's rapier, and the epee, plus Kero and Suppi roughly stuffed in Vash's pocket and zipped up so they wouldn't escape, and Cherry tightly in Kanari's hands, were thrown up several feet. Doughboy, the heaviest, came crashing down first, right on top of some daises. His fat rolled around him, and in an instant, he was up, the fat having supported his fall.
Kanari's feathery wings sprouted and she snatched at Vash, while Rene helped. Both of them acted as a parachute and leveled themselves and Vash to the ground. While snatching at Vash, Kero and Suppi had come tumbling out of the pocket. I, zooming down at two hundred miles per hour, saw this.
"Release!" I gasped, and choked as I snatched my wand from my chest (as I was falling, one hand still on Nakita. I hit my pocket and a whole bunch of cards came flying out. "Ack! Firey, Earthy!" Transforming the two beasts, Cerberus lunged at us falling four, while Anora, who had hidden beneath a stump while Genesis landed, lunged at the cards.
I landed on something cold and hard, and the next moment, my eyes blacked out. The next thing I knew, I was lying in the middle of some flowers.
According to Rene, it had gone like this: I had landed on Cerberus, Snowy on Colton, and the two beasts had gotten together to support Nakita in between, while Kelli urgently came down, skidding through some flowers. Cerberus and Colton landed, and us three rolled right off, while the two returned back to Kero and Suppi, and Anora handed the cards back to Kelli.
"Yuki, here." Kelli said, handing the slightly wet cards to me as I woke. I dried them and stared around. The clouds were all gone, but more were moving in from the west. I looked. The ship was sailing in the skies, with a big mast and oars rowing with the wind.
Everything seemed right, and complete. With that, I fell asleep again. Everything would be normal from now on. Our destiny had been completed.
There will be no teaser, as I'm posting the next chapter with this one, and that chapter is the last chapter of Jewel Quest. May Black Magic begin!
And yet...
"So, I guess we have to head home now." Vash said, watching the crowd disappear.
"I guess so." Nakita said, sitting down with the rest of the group in a semi-circle. For the last half hour, Vash had been taking autographs due to his address, and two dwarfs had come to the fountain, and placed on the mound where the statue had been standing, a brass sign that said, "Ogsville."
"Who would come up with a name such as Ogsville?" Doughboy asked as Vash signed the autograph of a little boy dwarf.
"I think it's cute." I protested.
"So do I." Rene said. "Ogsville, a name out of no where-"
"You've got that correct, all right." Doughboy said. "And if it's out of nowhere, it's also out of nowhere of importance."
"But Vash's brain." Rene finished. "And I happen to think there's a lot of stuff in that brain of his."
"Unlike yours, which is microscopic." Kanari said. All the girls started giggling. Doughboy grunted and said something nasty about Vash.
"How can you, or ANYONE, in that case, be so insensitive?" Nakita wondered. "Just look at Vash, signing autographs, listening and taking in all the insults! Have you no shame, Doughboy?" Doughboy turned red. No one knew that by this time, Vash, turned around where they could not see him, had a huge smile on his face. It was one thing to be said about when Doughboy was the one saying it, and those bitter insults continued, which made Vash want to turn around and bash him with a lead pipe, but it was another when all the girls were defending him.
"I noticed you didn't mention the battles and all the horrors we went through in that address of yours." Doughboy said. Vash slowly turned around as the last of the dwarfs returned to their homes.
"I see no need to." Vash said. "They all have their pain stakes, some have lost family members or loved ones, and they have all played an important part. Why bring back those horrible memories? Why tell them ours, to make them feel worse?" Vash's words had a strong emotion behind them, as if concealing something. "No." He said softly. "We all worked together in this, and there is absolutely no need to be reminded. Memories, even the bad ones, need to be cherished one day, need to be remembered. It's not good to forget how someone you loved died. But not now, not in a few days, but someday, when perhaps the scars heal."
"And you will remember." Kelli finished. "Remember those fun times you had, forget how they parted, because that doesn't matter anymore, and what does matter is your memories of that person, and what fun and joy you had; that's what really counts." Vash turned his head and met Kelli's gaze.
"I will remember."
There was a moment of grand silence, as the sun set over the horizon, and I felt nothing could be better.
"It doesn't get much better than this." I said. "You're with your friends, your heart has just been touched, and the whole world is in everlasting peace."
"Anybody ready to go back to bed?" Clay the Elder said.
"I don't think I can stand another night down there." Kanari said. "Gag me with a fur ball as you might, I can't stand the pressure in that place anymore."
"What pressure?" Kelli and Vash both asked.
"Air pressure." Kanari said. "It's so low down there, with artificial lighting and everything! Reminds me of a cave, and I never liked cages."
"Then think of how all those dwarfs must feel, to be down there for years." Mr. Clay said. Kanari was quiet, once again.
"Is it possible that we could camp out here the last night we're staying?" Snowy asked.
"This is our last night?" Doughboy cried. "Yes!" Vash and Kelli exchanged looks, and Nakita sighed and shook her head at Doughboy (which made his sigh and feel grumpy, thinking, "Why can't I ever please her?).
"Please do." Kelli said. "Our last night here, we shall leave tomorrow night."
"Yes, after the boat is complete, we shall say goodbye to everyone and everything on this planet, and then we shall leave to go to the Third Dimension." Vash said. Catching Clay the Elder's gaze, he added, "Of course we'll wait for Genesis to come, and also come to visit."
"Lair will be buried tomorrow." Clay the Elder said. "We will meet at the town cemetery at seven, two hours before Genesis is scheduled to land. The boat shall be completed before them."
"Yes sir." Snowy agreed. "And I can create a tent and I have Liz's rapier." Snowy held up the rapier in one hand and the wand in another.
"I have something to give." Clay the Elder said. He reached out and placed a sword in front of us.
"Another sword?" I asked.
"An epee." Clay the Elder said, talking it out of the sheath. "A three bladed sword."
"Who is it for?" Vash asked. "Kelli, Yuki, and I already have our swords."
"Whoever you want." Clay the Elder took Mr. Clay's arm and they floated off like ghosts into the sky. We watched them off.
"Nakita, do you want it?" Vash asked.
"I'm pretty comfortable, as I have Cherry and my bells." Nakita replied gently.
"Rene?"
"Well, I have my power hoops and broomstick already, you know." Rene replied.
"Yeah, Snowy?"
"Sorry Vash, I already have too many spells to remember with this wand than time to practice fencing."
"Er, Kanari?"
"Nah, Vash, I don't like the fighting thing in the first place, and though I'm willing to do it, I don't think I'm willing to stab somebody with a sword, something Liz wasn't exactly willing to do in the first place. And besides, I like my weapon, and even though Nakita and I can make someone deaf and blind, you can't really see those effects."
"Then who? Oh, wait, Doughboy?" Vash asked, eyebrows raised in doubt.
"I'll take it." Doughboy said, reaching forward.
"Doughboy, number one, you can't even hold it, it's too heavy, and number two, you can't possibly fence, it's for someone with a more slender body, someone who can bounce around more." I protested.
"He does need more of a weapon, though." Vash said. "He can literally do nothing in this group, heavens knows why he's still with us, all he can do is be a nuisance and float around."
"He makes, er, as a target and distraction for an enemy." Rene suggested. "I mean, they can aim for him cause he's so feeble and we can attack from behind."
"Oh yes, bait." Vash said. "Afraid I forgot about it."
"I don't want the sword anymore." Doughboy said curtly.
"All right." Vash held it out. "Somebody, please."
"Snowy?" Rene asked. "Do you want me to carry Snowy's rapier so you can work your magic better?"
"Well, I'm pretty much getting used to being really heavy on one side, but yes, I'd be more than glad to have you take it." Snowy said, giving it to Rene.
"And I'll be free to carry the epee, make it a less of a burden for Vash." Nakita said.
"Too bad those can't shrink like mine does." I said, pulling out my necklace, looking at it, and then pulling out the Sword Card. We giggled and started for the meadows, which Snowy noted would be a good place to spend the night, remembering all the battles that had happened on those grounds.
"It's settled then." Vash said. "Let's go."
* * *
The ship building process was something I hated, that continued for most of the day, and finally finished when the day ended at six. The boards were all done and painted and polished, and the last of the workers were all rearranging the furniture in their room. The rubble left over from the castle had been searched for anything valuable and burned, leaving nothing but a pile of ashes.
"All memories gone, no hard feelings anyone." Doughboy announced, walking circles around us. Nakita stopped him.
"The memories aren't gone, and will never be gone, just the structure, and the past will truly be gone." She said.
"Too true, the past goes too." Vash said, walking from the rubble into the town. "Come on. They expanded it more today, and the cemetery has been decorated with flowers."
"I think I cemetery should be a nice place, a place to remember and to be remembered." I said. "Why does everyone hate cemeteries so and think that they have ghosts?"
"Cause most of them didn't die naturally." Kelli said. "Come." We entered the cemetery, still half an hour early, watching as they set out the places. We went up to the open casket and looked in. Lair, her flaming red hair and her blue eyes, still wide awake. She looked so real; as if you reached out a hand and touched her she would spring back alive again. I frowned. She seemed so real.
Vash gripped the side of the casket.
"I will remember you, whatever happens." He said. He blew a kiss into the casket, and Kelli joined him. The rest of us, one by one (with Doughboy in the lead) slowly retreated to our seats, saving two for Kelli and Vash.
When they finally returned, the ceremony began.
I don't know what struck me as so amazing, whether the fact that I had seen a dead corpse (yeah, I know, all corpses are dead) or the fact that I had seen a funeral, both for the first time, but it was just so sad, with the dwarf up there talking. Trying not to cry, the funeral service went by too quickly, and when the casket was lowered into the ground, and two dwarfs started to bury it, I stood up.
"Lair wasn't the evil person you all thought her to be." I started, shakily, trembling. Vash looked up in surprise, and the dwarfs stopped burying. "She may have been possessed in evil, but she was really a good person to start with, and a good person may she end with. She made a great deal many mistakes, and had to pay for them, but whatever you may say about her, whatever you say bad about her, how she was responsible of all this evil, remember one thing. We are all born equal, we are all born innocent, and whatever happens, you have the choice in what you chose to do in life, and you make the decisions and things happen." I literally stopped and broke down there. And then I caught my voice. There was still something to say, something to get my point across, and I knew all the rest of them were silently urging me to say it. My voice came from far away, as if a distant spirit was lifting it, and I found the words forming at the top of my tongue.
"Behind every villain, there is a soul; behind every hero, there is a choice; and behind every battle, there is a destiny."
"And there always will be." Vash said, standing up. He waked over to the dwarfs. "Let me bury her." The dwarfs put down their shovels, and Vash stood there, by himself, and, putting his whole heart into it, buried Lair.
"I think it's a sign of forgiveness, acceptance." Kelli said as Vash finished and laid the shovel down, and the crowd, overcome with emotion, started to depart. "Thank you Yuki."
"I don't know what happened, or what came over me." I said, scratching the back of my head. Vash smiled.
"That's all right, because you did the right thing, and I think that everyone will, somehow, not hate Lair anymore." He stopped and we watched the two dwarfs come and place the stone on top of the place she was buried. After they left, people started to put flowers on it.
"We don't need flowers." Kelli said. "We never will, because we have our love, love for her." With an arm around Vash, they disappeared into the town.
"Aw, how sweet, sister and brother." Rene said, joining me.
"I wonder how it is to have siblings." I said.
"Believe me, you don't want to know." Snowy said, approaching. We all exchanged smiles.
"Let's go." Nakita said. Cherry was even crying openly now.
* * *
"You always forget us, Yuki." Kero whined. Suppi was laughing on the ground.
"Oh, sorry." I said.
"Kelli left Anora in the mansion too." Suppi said. "But Nakita remembered Cherry." I sighed.
"Well, I have to thank Clay the Elder for bringing you two out here and for all he's done for us." I said. "Come." I took one in each hand and started towards the others.
There were all watching the town, which seemed to be swallowed up in a purple bubble, still on the ground, like a massive dome that was protection it. The boat was already in the air, and the last workers were boarding it and raveling the ladder up.
"What's going to happen?" I asked.
"Well, it's more than likely that we'll be thrown off the planet and then, we will get up and say goodbye and go home." Vash said dryly.
"Vash and I have already said our goodbyes to everything and everyone, with the exception of Clay the Elder and Mr. Clay and the head of the army of dwarfs." Kelli said. "Look up there." She pointed among the stars, and I saw a great, massive, orange ball coming towards Uri.
"It really isn't orange, is it?" Rene asked. "I mean, it looks like it's full of gas, or like Venus and Saturn's surfaces!"
"I believe those are just clouds, and that there's really something good underneath." Kelli said. "Speaking of clouds." She looked around. "Clay the Elder has one last task for us."
"Uh-oh." Kanari said.
"Well, Genesis has a ton of clouds, and Uri didn't have any to start with, but when Queen Jewel came, she produced all this." Kelli said. "So if we could just fly over the clouds, and scatter this (she held up a bag) over it, they will break down and disappear and become minerals."
"You're joking, right?" Doughboy said. "Never before has anything been able to break down clouds and turn them into minerals."
"We're talking Uri here." Vash said.
"And then Uri will be clear of clouds, and the ones from Genesis will move over, so the whole planet, or should I say, planets, will be equal." Kelli said, clasping her hands together. "What do you think?"
"I have a question." I said. "How are we going to get above the clouds, build a spaceship?"
"Oh, just like in the shows and cartoons!" Doughboy said. We all stared at him. "What?"
"The procedure is very hard." Vash said, suddenly in serious mode. "Just four of us will go. When Genesis lands, we will be thrown several feet into the air, which gives the four of us a boost, and we can reach the clouds when Genesis throws us into the air. We have to have wings, however, so I can't go." He looked somewhat disappointed. "The rest of us will be in the meadow, and thrown up and will hopefully land on the tall grass and flowers." He looked around. "Who volunteers to go?"
"I will." I said. Kero and Suppi, followed by Anora, flew over to Vash. Kelli nodded.
"So will I."
"Why can't I just use my bubble and fly up there?" Doughboy said. "I've never really tested how far up I can go."
"Because your bubble is too slow and the air pressure will get to you and you might fall and crush us." Vash replied. "All right, Snowy. Rene, your wings are too little to go. One more person, please." Nakita and Kanari looked at each other.
"Take care of Cherry for me, Kanari." Nakita said, handing over Cherry.
"All right, we're ready." Kelli said. "Keep your fist closed." She poured some white powder into our hands. "That is, until we get up there." She said with a wink. "Make sure you don't open up your fists when the blast comes." We nodded.
"Coming in two minutes." Vash said. We waited in somewhat, silence. Clay the Elder was keeping the people and dwarfs safe with his powers. "Ten, nine, eight-"
"Feel like I'm going on a space voyage." Snowy said, looking at the pile of weapons (the rapier and epee especially) we had left with the others for safekeeping.
"Make sure that the swords don't fly out of the sheath." Kelli said. I closed my eyes, and remembered that I needed to see. Waiting for the blast, I held my breath.
"Four, three, two, one." There was an earthly groan, followed by a crunch, and I felt myself being tossed in the air.
"Now!" Kelli screamed, and our wings all came out. Flapping wildly, trying to fight against gravity and the groaning earth, we rose higher and higher. The air was getting to me, and I felt as if we would never reach the clouds. But we got somewhat three feet on top of them and scattered the powder.
"Don't worry, it'll spread." Kelli said.
"Oh!" Nakita said, and that moment she seemed to have fainted, her body suspended, and lying on her back, she began to spin.
"Quick, there isn't much time!" Kelli said. I didn't understand how she could speak at a time like this. But grabbing Nakita, along with the other three, I realized that Kelli must have experience. I was blacking out quickly, and Snowy was gasping.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Vash, Rene, Kanari, and Doughboy, carrying the Blue Mist, Lovely Violet, Liz's rapier, and the epee, plus Kero and Suppi roughly stuffed in Vash's pocket and zipped up so they wouldn't escape, and Cherry tightly in Kanari's hands, were thrown up several feet. Doughboy, the heaviest, came crashing down first, right on top of some daises. His fat rolled around him, and in an instant, he was up, the fat having supported his fall.
Kanari's feathery wings sprouted and she snatched at Vash, while Rene helped. Both of them acted as a parachute and leveled themselves and Vash to the ground. While snatching at Vash, Kero and Suppi had come tumbling out of the pocket. I, zooming down at two hundred miles per hour, saw this.
"Release!" I gasped, and choked as I snatched my wand from my chest (as I was falling, one hand still on Nakita. I hit my pocket and a whole bunch of cards came flying out. "Ack! Firey, Earthy!" Transforming the two beasts, Cerberus lunged at us falling four, while Anora, who had hidden beneath a stump while Genesis landed, lunged at the cards.
I landed on something cold and hard, and the next moment, my eyes blacked out. The next thing I knew, I was lying in the middle of some flowers.
According to Rene, it had gone like this: I had landed on Cerberus, Snowy on Colton, and the two beasts had gotten together to support Nakita in between, while Kelli urgently came down, skidding through some flowers. Cerberus and Colton landed, and us three rolled right off, while the two returned back to Kero and Suppi, and Anora handed the cards back to Kelli.
"Yuki, here." Kelli said, handing the slightly wet cards to me as I woke. I dried them and stared around. The clouds were all gone, but more were moving in from the west. I looked. The ship was sailing in the skies, with a big mast and oars rowing with the wind.
Everything seemed right, and complete. With that, I fell asleep again. Everything would be normal from now on. Our destiny had been completed.
There will be no teaser, as I'm posting the next chapter with this one, and that chapter is the last chapter of Jewel Quest. May Black Magic begin!
