"The Power of Love"

By Chibimisty1108

Part Seven

      "So, it looks like that girl has beaten my four best warriors. It looks like soon it will be my turn to fight her."

      "Master Dasha, let me get rid of the girl for you."

      "If you wish to, you may then."

      "Okay, so where are we exactly?" Kento asks, looking around. They are surrounded by dirt everywhere and in front of them is a huge cliff.

      "I think we're in Dasha's realm now," answers Rowen.

      "So the final battle is going to come soon."

      "Right, Cye. Now we just have to figure out what our next move is."

      "I know what my next move is, Ryo. I'm going to find Dasha and finish her off so we can forget about this sooner."

      "Then we should practice, Mia." Sage and Mia start to practice fighting. Everyone else sits down in a circle.

      "So, Ryo, what's happening with Mia?" Rowen asks.

      "She's too busy right now to be thinking about stuff like that."

      "Hey, is anyone else hungry?" Kento asked.

      "Actually, I'm a bit hungry too," Cye says, holding his stomach.

      "You guys are just in luck." Yuli takes off his book bag and opens it, to show dozens of snacks. "My mom packed me some food just in case if I got hungry on the trip."

      "All right, Yuli!" Kento grabs a bag of chips and opens it. "All this work has given me an appetite."

      "Watch out, Kento!" Mia screams as Sage comes flying toward him. He hits the ground right next to Kento.

      "Sorry, Kento." Mia pounces toward Sage, but he dodges. "Keep it up, Mia. You're doing great. We just have to work a bit harder."

      "Hey, you guys, why don't you come over here and have something to eat?" Rowen asked.

      "That sounds fine to me." Sage runs over and sits himself down. "I could use the food." Mia takes her time, breathing heavily. She wipes the sweat off her forehead and sits down next to Sage. Kento stares at the bag of chips.

      "Are they okay, Kento?"

      "They're fine, Yuli. I'm just not hungry."

      "But Kento, you were starving before," Ryo said.

      "I know. Here, Mia, you can have my share." Kento places the bag in front of Mia.

      "What are you doing, Kento?" Mia asks, looking confused.

      "You need this more then I do. You're the one doing all the fighting, not us. You're going to need all the energy you can have to fight Dasha."

      "Kento's right for once." Rowen puts his bag in front of Mia and everyone else follows.

      "You guys." The corners of Mia's eyes start to tear, but she blinks them away. "Why don't you save them for later, Yuli."

      "Okay, Mia."

      Yuli opens his eyes and gets up. He looks at all the guys sleeping and then looks at the cliff where he sees Mia. He gets up and walks toward her. "What are you doing, Mia?"

      "Huh? Oh, it's you, Yuli. I'm sorry I took your book bag. I needed some paper."

      "Don't worry about it, Mia." He sits down next to her. "So, what are you doing?"

      "Well, I'm making origami cranes." Yuli looks down at her hands and sees her just finishing making one.

      "Why are you making paper birds?"

      "When I was little, whenever I was really stressed out, my grandfather used to tell me to let my worries fly away." She puts the bird in the palm of her hand and brings it to eye level. "So, what I did was go up to the roof my the house and write down my problems on a piece of paper. Then I would fold them into origami cranes and throw them over the edge of the roof, letting my problems fly away." Mia throws the crane over the edge and lets it fall. "It sounds pretty silly, but it's kind of a habit I've developed."

      Yuli stares at all the paper next to Mia. "You must have a lot of problems if you have so much paper."

      "You don't know the half of it, Yuli. This whole thing is stressing me out. Everyone is depending on me to defeat Dasha. I'm not sure if I can even do it. I just want to live normal life and not have to worry about fighting evil."

      "We'll all be there for you, Mia. We're all counting on you."

      That's why I'm so upset. "Why don't you go back to sleep, Yuli? I need some time to think."

      "Okay, Mia." Yuli gets up and walks back. Mia looks at a piece of paper and then looks at a nearby pen.

      Yuli wakes up to see the sun up. He finds an origami crane on his book bag. He opens it up and reads it. "Ryo! Wake up! Mia's gone!"

      "Dear Ryo, Sage, Rowen, Cye, Kento, White Blaze, and Yuli. I'm so sorry to leave you guys like this. It's just that I'm just not up to fighting. I don't know exactly what I should do. I have to go think for a while. I just want to be a normal person, that's all. I'm so sorry, but I know you guys will figure out a way. I'm sorry you wasted all your time on me. From, Mia," Ryo reads out loud. He puts down the letter. "She left us."

      "How could she just abandon us like that?"

      "She's really scared, Kento. I talked to her last night and she is freaked out about all of this," Yuli says, trying to defend Mia.

      "Well then, it looks like it's all up to us."

      "You won't have to worry about that for long, Ronins."

      "What? Who's there?"

      A woman in dark green armor appears with a pair of swords. "I'm here to sign your death certificate."

      "Armor of Wildfire, Halo, Strata, Torrent, Hardrock!"

      "Spiral Storm!" All the guys spread out.

      "I hope the guys forgive me for leaving them. I just can't handle this pressure." All of a sudden, a dozen soldiers surround Mia. At the same time, they pounce toward Mia. "Leave me alone!" The spirit orb starts to glow and swallows the area. Mia opens her eyes to see that she is a room painted gold. "Where am I?"

      "Welcome, Mia. I've been wanting to see you for a long time."

      Mia gets on her knees and looks at the man. "Who are you? What am I doing here?"

      "My name is Hiro. I was the first wearer of the Armor of the Heavens. I am the warrior that you have made a legend of."

      "You're the one you defeated the evil and was made a god."

      "Not really. I thought I destroyed it, but it came back and took my life. It wanted the spirit orb, so I sent it away. It searches to this very day searching for a person with a pure heart who can unlock its power. That person is you, Mia, and that evil is Dasha."

      "How do you know it's me?"

      "All the other wearers never got past Persha. You have, and are very close to finding the Armor of the Heavens. You must destroy Dasha or this world is doomed."

      "I can't. I don't want to fight. I want to live my life as a normal girl. I don't want to worry about fighting. I want to worry about exams, and about a job, and about a boyfriend, and about paying bills and about doing work around the house."

      "Mia, this whole world is counting on you, including your friends."

      "They can defeat Dasha. They defeated Talpa, they can destroy Dasha."

      "They can't, Mia. Dasha is much stronger than Talpa was."

      "No! They can fight. I can't fight. I can't do it." Mia drops her head, looking and the ground and starts to cry. "I don't want to fight!"

      "Mia, they need you. Look into the ball." A crystal ball appears in Hiro's hands and Mia looks at it. It shows the guys trying to fight, but loosing very badly. "You see, Mia, they can't handle one of Dasha's warriors. How can they defeat Dasha?"

      "They'll find a way. They always do."

      "Mia, think about all the times they've protected you against Talpa. Now it's your turn to repay them. They believe in you, why can't you believe in yourself? Don't you remember Yuli last night? And the Ronin Warriors giving up their food so you could eat and have enough energy? They need you, Mia. The spirit orb chose you for a reason. Let it guide you." The spirit orb starts to glow in a golden color and Mia's eyes turn the same color as the orb.

      "How could I be so stupid? I was being so selfish. I wasn't even thinking about them. They've spent so much time training me and they believe in me. I have to believe in myself. I know I can do it." Mia stands up and holds the spirit orb in her hand. "Armor of the Spirits!" She opens her wings and flies away.

      "Mia! The spirit orb will show you the way to Dasha!" She is the one who can bring the armor and destroy Dasha. I know it.

      Ryo struggles to get himself up in his Inferno armor. "What's wrong Wildfire? Too weak? Why don't you give up?"

      "I'll never give up."

      "Fine, then. Spiral Storm!"

      "Mystic Barrier!" The barrier shields Ryo and the others from the blast.

      "What was that?"

      "Right here, ugly." She turns around and looks at the shadowy figure come closer. "I am Mia of the Heavens, sworn to protect this world and nobody messes with my friends. I'm going to show you a thing or two."

      "Maybe I'll actually have a challenge." Mia puts out her hand and her staff returns to her. "Spiral Storm!" Mia dodges the blast and goes straight toward the warrior. The warrior tries to attack Mia, but misses every time.

      "I'm sick of this. Mortal Spirit Blaze!" The attack hits the warrior and destroys her. All the guys get back on their feet.

      "Thanks a lot, Mia," Sage said.

      "Yeah. We would have been dead if you didn't come," Cye said. Mia turns around, with her back to them and walks away.

      "Mia, where are you going?" Kento screams.

      "This battle doesn't involve you guys. And, anyway, I don't deserve you as friends."

      Yuli on White Blaze runs in front of her and blocks her. "What are you talking about, Mia?"

      "This is my battle and I don't want you guys to get hurt. I already almost got you killed. I let you guys down and abandoned you guys when you really needed me. Now move it, Yuli." She jumps over him and continues to walk away.

      "Mia! Don't say that! Friends are always there for each other, and you were here for us!" Ryo screamed.

      "Don't leave us, Mia! We need you!"

      Mia turns around and looks at them. "But, I…"

      "Mia, we're going to stick with you through this, no matter what. We've gotten this far together, it makes no sense breaking up."

      "Rowen's right. We'll fight right next to you Mia. Friends are always there for each other," Ryo says.

      Tears start to fill in Mia's eyes and she drops to her hands and knees and breaks down crying.  "I'm… so sorry you guys. I didn't mean to leave you, I was just so scared. I didn't know what to do. I'm so glad… I have friends like you guys." The spirit orb starts to glow again. Behind of Mia over the cliff, a huge castle appears.

      "Look, you guys." Yuli points at the huge building. "That must be Dasha's castle."

      Mia gets up and returns to her subarmor. She turns around with the spirit orb in her hands. "Hiro said the spirit orb would show me the way to Dasha, and it did."

      Yuli goes up to Mia's side. "So are you ready, Mia?"

      Mia looks down at Yuli and then to the guys, who shake their heads one by one. She looks back at the castle. "I'm going to defeat Dasha, once and for all."