Chapter 11 Ryo ran after Jenna in the thickness of the blue-silver fog. Being that he could move faster, he shed his full armor and continued the chase in sub- armor. "Jenna! Wait!" He called out to her every now and then, fearing that she would get to far ahead of him and he would loose her, something that he did not want to do. At the thought of that, he picked up his pace. But then he tripped over something and fell. When he looked up to see if he could still see her, he could not. "Oh no! Jenna!" He got up and ran as fast as he could to where he last saw her. Repeatedly, he called her name into the lonely fog. His eyes teared up slightly when he did not see her, but he did not give up. Calling her name again, he stopped and looked about him, keeping his feet on the ground as to not loose the direction he was headed in. After glancing at his right, he thought he saw something lying on the ground. Taking a closer look, he could make out the shape of sub-armor. Cautiously, he ran towards it. A few seconds later, as the fog cleared, he realized it was Jenna. "Jenna!" He ran to her side and then knelt beside her. Taking her upper body in his arms, he cradled her and caressed her cheek. She seemed to have blacked out from lack of strength. When he traced the outline of her face softly and dazedly, she moaned slightly. "Shh.... It's all right. I am here and you're safe." Jenna seemed to cling to him once she realized who was holding her. To Jenna, Ryo felt warm and strong, thus making her feel safe. And inside, she was cold and lost. Emotions were haywire in her. Not over just Ryo, even tho he was one of the two parts of the problem. The other was worry for her friends. She knew something was wrong and that the Senshi were in trouble. Ryo wasted no time in getting her to a safe place. He found a small cave that seemed to be out of harms way. He knew that they were nowhere near the castle, for this place looked too much like Earth, meaning it was closer to the gates. Cradling her like he did when he had first found her, he armored down completely and was in his street clothes. Getting her to be the same way, he pulled his sweatshirt off and wrapped it around her shoulders. Leaning back against the wall, he let her lay her head on his chest and regain her strength by sleeping. With daydreaming eyes, he studied her again, something that he found he could do all day. From her braided black hair, down to her china doll face, he found her very beautiful. But if only he could actually come out and say those three little words to her. Sighing, he fell asleep as well, not dreaming of Jenna, but of the girl in the gardens. Once again she was begging him not to go. But he protested. "I have too Jensea... I have too..." "Then I will wear Triforce and fight with you...." Those words brought him back awake again. * If those dreams are a memory... then... that means that if the girl in my dream can bear Triforce... that means she is Jenna... * He looked at the still sleeping girl that he held. He could now see it. Same china doll face, same raven hair, and same beauty. "I am so stupid to not have seen it... Jensea? Where you my love back then? Are we destined to be together now?" He whispered to himself. Then Jenna clung to him again. Not in safety, but this time in fear. She then moaned, "Ryo.... Don't leave me..." "I am right here, Jenna...." He said, pulling her closer into his arms. But that did not stop the dreams, or rather flashbacks that she was having. ~ Jenna looked up at the evil tyrant in front of her. His black armor and faceless body was just a shell for his evil soul. She was holding her wounded arm, and she could feel blood seeping through her fingers. "You will die for your sins Talpa! My kingdom will get revenge for this!" She yelled, but he just laughed. "With what army? You're people are dead, and you are the only warrior left in reserve! Now... Meet your doom, Princess Jensea!" He yelled and then aimed his sword at her. Jenna closed her eyes, ready to accept death for she was not able to move due her busted kneecap. "Think again!" A familiar voice cried, echoed by the clanging of swords. Looking up, she saw a red armored figure blocking the sword of the enemy with his katanas. "Lord Rekka!" She gasped. "I told you to stay in the palace love. Why did you not listen?" He gritted through clenched teeth. "I received word that you were missing in action." She groaned as she tried to stand and help him fight against Talpa. "So I had to fight!" "But I am fine... now... we have to get back to the palace!" He pushed Talpa's swords away from them then connected his katanas. "Stand back, Jensea..." "No! I will fight with you!" She grabbed her sword off of the ground and got into a weak battle stance. As Rekka tried to stop her, Talpa geared to attack again. "DIE RONINS!" He yelled. Jenna saw the sword charge at Rekka and she knocked him out of the way, blocking Talpa's attack with her own. "SHADOW OF THE PHOENIX!!!" As a large beam of lava, lead by a phoenix shape, hit Talpa, he countered it. But the two attacks back fired on their master and hit them, leaving Talpa lifeless and Jenna clinging on to her own. "Jensea! Nooo!!" Rekka yelled, running to her as he dropped his swords. As he cradled her softly, tear ran down his face. "No, no, no! Don't leave me, please." "R-Rekka..." She whispered in a barely audible voice as she touched his cheek. He took her hand in his and closed his eyes, rubbing the back of her hand over his cheek. "I'm... sorry..." Her hand fell limp with death and she heard Rekka scream for her to awaken, but she did not. He held her close to him, trembling with tears. "I won't loose you like this... I don't want to leave you, my dear Jensea..." Placing her down, he looked at Talpa's sword. Slowly he picked it up and held it to his neck. Steadily, he let the blade sink into his skin, causing pain and blood to flow. Once he saw the red liquid flow over his hand, he pulled the sword out and dropped it to the ground. Again he cradled Jenna in his arms, trembling with pain and tears. "I will be with you soon..." Then he fell to the ground as he whispered, "I love you... my Princess." ~ As Rekka hit the ground in her dream, Jenna jolted awake, screaming, "Noooooooooooooo!! Ryo don't leave me!" "Shh, shh. It's ok Jenna." Ryo whispered as she threw herself into his arms again. Tears fell down her face from her closed eyes as she clung to his solid form. "I'm right here... you were just dreaming." "R-Rekka..." She sobbed, not wanting to believe that the flashback was true. Ryo closed his eyes as a sundry of memories of the last days on the Mars kingdom hit him. Opening his eyes when he felt her tremble worse, he smiled. "I'm here, Jensea... I am here." This caused Jenna to look up at him. Gasping, she realized that Ryo was Rekka, her love from the Silver Era. "Ryo... you're Rekka... how could I have forgotten..." He placed a finger over her lips and then lift her face more. "It doesn't matter... as long as we are together now. I will not let you die again..." He looked into her eyes. "I swear it." "And I will not try to fight against your words." She vowed. "I love you..." Leaning down, Ryo went to kiss her. Jenna closed her eyes as soon as their lips touched. As he caressed her cheek, she locked her arms around his neck. A few moments later, they pulled away from one another just far enough to where Ryo could kiss her forehead. "And I love you..." Jenna smiled as she saw her chance to answer him. After a few more moments of holding each other close and whispering soft words of comfort to one another, Jenna said, "Maybe we should go and find the others..." "True... but I wish I could just spend a few more moments with you... I have missed you so much, Jenna." He whispered against her forehead. Nodding in agreement, they decided to stay a little longer then go. "You should sleep..." "Only if you do..." Jenna smiled as he nodded, then closed her eyes, her head resting on his chest again. "Night..." "Sleep well, my Princess." He kissed her forehead again and then held her close. Making sure she fell asleep first, he made a mental note not to go into a deep sleep incase trouble started up. Running his hand in her hair, he closed his eyes and then slowly fell asleep, dreaming of the happy times in the past with his love.