Kit landed hard on the floor of the dank cave, and Ponch came soaring
through the air after him. Nita appeared as well, landing on top of Kit.
"Sorry," Nita muttered, rolling to one side so that Kit could get up. Kit groaned softly and stood up. He had no time to spare. Grabbing Nita's hand and hauling her to her feet, Kit looked around the dark cave. There sure weren't many hiding places here.
"Nita, how do you detect the kernel?" At first, Nita looked confused and weary, but then her eyes lit up and a small smile spread across her tired face. She looked around, holding out her hands to feel for the rhythmic beating that lead her towards the kernel. Suddenly, her thoughts and feelings were interrupted by something else- something unwanted. The Lone One appeared by Kit's side, sneering at him. Kit's heart plunged, as he thought,
'Come on Neets.' Nita looked around, panicking, trying to find the kernel. She was led towards the left wall of the cave to a small boulder on the floor. Trying hard to concentrate, Nita bent down to examine the rock but found nothing. It was well hidden. The One stepped closer, leering at her, daring her to make a move.
Kit watched in horror, scanning his brain for some sort of spell that would save them. Trying to fit together the bubble spell, Kit squeezed his eyes shut, figuring out the parameters.
The Lone Power moved swiftly forward, Nita losing her grip on where the pulsating of the kernel was coming from.
'Come on. Come on, where are you.' Nita thought desperately, searching all over for the perfectly hidden kernel that ran the Lone One's tiny world. The Lone One stooped down, and lifted the still fully charged glede from the ground where Kit had dropped it earlier. He held it out in front of Him, sneering. He picked a perfect spell out of its brain, and leered again, his handsome face glowing with evil revenge. Kit was still reconfiguring the parameters of the bubble spell, trying to feed energy into it or else it wouldn't be strong enough to face the Lone One, who held up His hands.
Kit squeezed his eyes shut, slumping to the ground in defeat. Nita's screams burst through his head shrilly, magnified in his head. He'd let her down. He'd let her down.
Nita slumped to the ground, the world feeling fuzzy and fading. Her tongue seemed to fill up her mouth. She glanced at Kit and Ponch, who was crouching in a corner, and then at the Lone Power, holding up the magnificently glowing glede, who'd finally killed her. The light of the glede invaded her eyes. The muffled sounds pounded in her ears. Then, she let her head fall to the rough surface and her eyes roll back in her head, and everything faded away.
"NITA!" Kit screamed in anguish. Ponch whimpered, hardly daring to make another sound. The glede was burnt out again, and tumbled to the floor with a crash. Kit stared at it. He'd come all this way to save Nita using the Macao to recharge the glede, and it backfired. The glede ended up killing Nita. Kit felt like he would never stand up again, but then a crazy idea entered his head. He got up, both the Lone One and Ponch watching him intensely, and Kit wandered towards the left wall and opened his senses to the kernel. He felt a pulsating around him, and moved until it got louder in his ears and his whole body shook from it. Then, he opened his eyes. He was crouching near the rock Nita had been inspecting. He moved the rock, but found nothing.
'Then where could it be?' his mind screamed at him. He absentmindedly reached for his claudication, his otherspace pocket, and remembered it couldn't be accessed there. 'I wonder why.' but the answer soon appeared, plain as day in his head. 'I can't get mine because there's another very powerful one here holding something really important! It's taking up all the claudication space!' Kit reached forward to the boulder, and his finger latched a zipper. He pulled it down, and opened up the Lone One's permanent world's claudication. He then pulled out something he never thought he'd manage to get- the kernel for this other world. It was a mass of intricate, weaving, golden strings all stuck together to form a ball shape. Kit held it in his hands, and the One's eyes widened, terrified that Kit held his world's very existence and could destroy it at his own leisure.
Kit pressed the flexible ball in his hands, figuring out a way to make it go back in time. He pushed here, and there, not quite knowing how to do this. Finally, Kit pressed at one point, and found himself falling back in time, the pounding of the kernel pressing in his eardrums until he thought they would pop. Kit finally landed on the cool, cave floor mere minutes before, and looked around at Nita, Ponch, and the Lone Power. Nita was sitting on the floor searching for the kernel that Kit held in his hands. She looked up at Kit, astonished at what he held in his hands. Ponch also looked up at him, wondering what had just happened.
"Nita, I've got it. I've got the kernel." Kit held it out for her to see.
"How did you.?" Nita asked, bewildered.
"I'll explain later," Kit mumbled, turning to the Lone Power. "One more press here, and your world is history," Kit informed him. "And if I press here, you will not be able to chase us anymore. I'll trap you here." Kit stared him square in the eye, not budging. "So which would you prefer?" The Lone One's eyes searched for a way out of this, but there was none. Nita stared at Kit, impressed at how he'd done all this, and guilty hat she had ever doubted that Kit would come through.
"Go ahead. Trap me here. I'm still out there, in all of you. I'll still chase you," The Lone One told him. Kit nodded.
"I know you will, but at least part of you will still be here," Kit told the Lone One, staring him in the eye, waiting for him to back down. Finally, Kit lightly tossed the kernel in the air and caught it gently again, waiting for another answer from the Lone Power, who hesitated, just a little frightened now.
"Okay then," Kit said simply, and pressed in two spots, making the world they stood in forever trap the Lone Power inside. But of course, he'd be out there with everyone still, but he'd be weaker. Kit smiled at Nita, who forced a smile back. Ponch got up, staring at the Lone Power, and barked in his face,
(Let's go Nita and Boss! Let's leave this trash behind!) Kit agreed, as did Nita. Kit shrugged, handing the kernel to Nita, who turned it into a shiny red apple. She took a bite out of it, and tossed it behind her into the wall. Soon, the three were sliding back through darkness to their own world, their own home, leaving the Lone Power to brood over this in his cave until the end of eternity.
Nita, Kit, and Ponch landed on the soft grass of Kit's backyard. Ponch landed on all fours, looking around at his home.
(Treats?) He asked. Kit sighed, rolling over on his back, and muttered,
"Yeah, sure. Treats." Kit pushed himself up into a sitting position, looking at Nita who just lay on the grass, glad to be home.
"So- what happened? One minute, I'm searching for the kernel, the next, you're holding it." Nita asked softly. Kit stared at her for a long time, thinking about the answer. Finally, he told her.
"You died. I found the kernel and went back in time to get you," Kit didn't feel like explaining more, but Nita understood. She stared at Kit, even more impressed now than before.
"Thanks," was the only word she could spit out. Just then, Ponch came racing back outside with Kit's parents. Kit's mom screamed and his dad stood in utter disbelief, absorbing the scene.
"Kit!" his mom cried out, throwing her arms around him and hugging him. Then, she saw Nita. "Nita! You're okay! You'd better go home, your parents have been worried sick!" she gave Nita a hug too, and Nita waved at Kit, smiling at him. Ponch licked her hand before she left, and Nita turned and with a pop of air, disappeared.
Dairine stared at the clock. It was late. Darkness hung around her like a thick blanket. The clock flashed a new number. 10:30. Closing her eyes, Dairine dropped herself down on her soft bed, not feeling it through her numbness. A pop of air sounded in her ears, and Dairine looked up tiredly. Her eyes met Nita's, and her mouth dropped open. She couldn't say anything; she was speechless. She just stared at Nita in delight and leapt up to hug her.
"You're back!" Dairine cried into Nita's shirt. "I can't believe it! I thought you were." Dairine trailed off, and Nita said silently,
'I was. But Kit saved me.' Dairine then let go and led Nita downstairs to her parents who sat in the dark.
"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" Nita called out, grinning from ear to ear.
***
Nita sat alone on the moon, in the usual spot. She stared back at waning earth, splashed with blue and green. Suddenly, Kit appeared at her side, sitting down on the rock next to her. He stared back at earth too. He'd just gotten the news. It was horrible, especially considering the fact that Nita had just gotten home. She'd barely gotten a chance to say goodbye.
"Everything down there seems so small compared to up here," Nita finally said monotonously, not even glancing away from Earth. "From way up here, it's hard to tell that there's even life down there. That any of it even matters." Kit gave her a pained look. "If I hadn't even come home, nothing would have changed from up here. Everything would still look the same. She still would have died." A single tear rolled down Nita's cheek.
"But it does matter. Every time something like that happens, like when you lived, the whole universe is affected, whether small or large. And it did make a difference. Thanks to us, the Lone One is once again weakened." Kit tried to cheer her up, but it was no use. He gave her a sad look, and went back to staring at the earth. After several long moments of wasting air supply and sitting in eerie silence on the moon, Kit tore his eyes away from the beautiful view. He made Nita look at him, though she didn't want to.
"And whatever happens, you'll still always have people who'll look out for you. Your friends and family are with you. And I'll bet she would have wanted you to feel good about your victory of the Lone Power," Kit told her. Nita's eyes finally met his.
"It's a never ending battle. No one wins. No one loses. It just goes on forever. The One can't be killed and he can't win either. Just like no one can conquer death, but just wait for death to conquer them." Nita said sadly. Kit leaned forward and kissed Nita. Nita closed her eyes and waited until Kit pulled away and stood up, feeling the wonderful sensation leave her lips. She opened her eyes to see Kit get ready to go.
"I'm going home. And you should too. Because staying here isn't going to make reality go away." And with that, Kit vanished into thin air. Nita waited there for several more moments, and then stood up too. He was right. No matter how long Nita wanted to put off her mother's funeral, she couldn't. She had to face it. Setting up the transit wizardry, Nita glanced back at the green and blue earth as it was engulfed by the darkness of empty space, and Nita disappeared. THE END!!!!!!
"Sorry," Nita muttered, rolling to one side so that Kit could get up. Kit groaned softly and stood up. He had no time to spare. Grabbing Nita's hand and hauling her to her feet, Kit looked around the dark cave. There sure weren't many hiding places here.
"Nita, how do you detect the kernel?" At first, Nita looked confused and weary, but then her eyes lit up and a small smile spread across her tired face. She looked around, holding out her hands to feel for the rhythmic beating that lead her towards the kernel. Suddenly, her thoughts and feelings were interrupted by something else- something unwanted. The Lone One appeared by Kit's side, sneering at him. Kit's heart plunged, as he thought,
'Come on Neets.' Nita looked around, panicking, trying to find the kernel. She was led towards the left wall of the cave to a small boulder on the floor. Trying hard to concentrate, Nita bent down to examine the rock but found nothing. It was well hidden. The One stepped closer, leering at her, daring her to make a move.
Kit watched in horror, scanning his brain for some sort of spell that would save them. Trying to fit together the bubble spell, Kit squeezed his eyes shut, figuring out the parameters.
The Lone Power moved swiftly forward, Nita losing her grip on where the pulsating of the kernel was coming from.
'Come on. Come on, where are you.' Nita thought desperately, searching all over for the perfectly hidden kernel that ran the Lone One's tiny world. The Lone One stooped down, and lifted the still fully charged glede from the ground where Kit had dropped it earlier. He held it out in front of Him, sneering. He picked a perfect spell out of its brain, and leered again, his handsome face glowing with evil revenge. Kit was still reconfiguring the parameters of the bubble spell, trying to feed energy into it or else it wouldn't be strong enough to face the Lone One, who held up His hands.
Kit squeezed his eyes shut, slumping to the ground in defeat. Nita's screams burst through his head shrilly, magnified in his head. He'd let her down. He'd let her down.
Nita slumped to the ground, the world feeling fuzzy and fading. Her tongue seemed to fill up her mouth. She glanced at Kit and Ponch, who was crouching in a corner, and then at the Lone Power, holding up the magnificently glowing glede, who'd finally killed her. The light of the glede invaded her eyes. The muffled sounds pounded in her ears. Then, she let her head fall to the rough surface and her eyes roll back in her head, and everything faded away.
"NITA!" Kit screamed in anguish. Ponch whimpered, hardly daring to make another sound. The glede was burnt out again, and tumbled to the floor with a crash. Kit stared at it. He'd come all this way to save Nita using the Macao to recharge the glede, and it backfired. The glede ended up killing Nita. Kit felt like he would never stand up again, but then a crazy idea entered his head. He got up, both the Lone One and Ponch watching him intensely, and Kit wandered towards the left wall and opened his senses to the kernel. He felt a pulsating around him, and moved until it got louder in his ears and his whole body shook from it. Then, he opened his eyes. He was crouching near the rock Nita had been inspecting. He moved the rock, but found nothing.
'Then where could it be?' his mind screamed at him. He absentmindedly reached for his claudication, his otherspace pocket, and remembered it couldn't be accessed there. 'I wonder why.' but the answer soon appeared, plain as day in his head. 'I can't get mine because there's another very powerful one here holding something really important! It's taking up all the claudication space!' Kit reached forward to the boulder, and his finger latched a zipper. He pulled it down, and opened up the Lone One's permanent world's claudication. He then pulled out something he never thought he'd manage to get- the kernel for this other world. It was a mass of intricate, weaving, golden strings all stuck together to form a ball shape. Kit held it in his hands, and the One's eyes widened, terrified that Kit held his world's very existence and could destroy it at his own leisure.
Kit pressed the flexible ball in his hands, figuring out a way to make it go back in time. He pushed here, and there, not quite knowing how to do this. Finally, Kit pressed at one point, and found himself falling back in time, the pounding of the kernel pressing in his eardrums until he thought they would pop. Kit finally landed on the cool, cave floor mere minutes before, and looked around at Nita, Ponch, and the Lone Power. Nita was sitting on the floor searching for the kernel that Kit held in his hands. She looked up at Kit, astonished at what he held in his hands. Ponch also looked up at him, wondering what had just happened.
"Nita, I've got it. I've got the kernel." Kit held it out for her to see.
"How did you.?" Nita asked, bewildered.
"I'll explain later," Kit mumbled, turning to the Lone Power. "One more press here, and your world is history," Kit informed him. "And if I press here, you will not be able to chase us anymore. I'll trap you here." Kit stared him square in the eye, not budging. "So which would you prefer?" The Lone One's eyes searched for a way out of this, but there was none. Nita stared at Kit, impressed at how he'd done all this, and guilty hat she had ever doubted that Kit would come through.
"Go ahead. Trap me here. I'm still out there, in all of you. I'll still chase you," The Lone One told him. Kit nodded.
"I know you will, but at least part of you will still be here," Kit told the Lone One, staring him in the eye, waiting for him to back down. Finally, Kit lightly tossed the kernel in the air and caught it gently again, waiting for another answer from the Lone Power, who hesitated, just a little frightened now.
"Okay then," Kit said simply, and pressed in two spots, making the world they stood in forever trap the Lone Power inside. But of course, he'd be out there with everyone still, but he'd be weaker. Kit smiled at Nita, who forced a smile back. Ponch got up, staring at the Lone Power, and barked in his face,
(Let's go Nita and Boss! Let's leave this trash behind!) Kit agreed, as did Nita. Kit shrugged, handing the kernel to Nita, who turned it into a shiny red apple. She took a bite out of it, and tossed it behind her into the wall. Soon, the three were sliding back through darkness to their own world, their own home, leaving the Lone Power to brood over this in his cave until the end of eternity.
Nita, Kit, and Ponch landed on the soft grass of Kit's backyard. Ponch landed on all fours, looking around at his home.
(Treats?) He asked. Kit sighed, rolling over on his back, and muttered,
"Yeah, sure. Treats." Kit pushed himself up into a sitting position, looking at Nita who just lay on the grass, glad to be home.
"So- what happened? One minute, I'm searching for the kernel, the next, you're holding it." Nita asked softly. Kit stared at her for a long time, thinking about the answer. Finally, he told her.
"You died. I found the kernel and went back in time to get you," Kit didn't feel like explaining more, but Nita understood. She stared at Kit, even more impressed now than before.
"Thanks," was the only word she could spit out. Just then, Ponch came racing back outside with Kit's parents. Kit's mom screamed and his dad stood in utter disbelief, absorbing the scene.
"Kit!" his mom cried out, throwing her arms around him and hugging him. Then, she saw Nita. "Nita! You're okay! You'd better go home, your parents have been worried sick!" she gave Nita a hug too, and Nita waved at Kit, smiling at him. Ponch licked her hand before she left, and Nita turned and with a pop of air, disappeared.
Dairine stared at the clock. It was late. Darkness hung around her like a thick blanket. The clock flashed a new number. 10:30. Closing her eyes, Dairine dropped herself down on her soft bed, not feeling it through her numbness. A pop of air sounded in her ears, and Dairine looked up tiredly. Her eyes met Nita's, and her mouth dropped open. She couldn't say anything; she was speechless. She just stared at Nita in delight and leapt up to hug her.
"You're back!" Dairine cried into Nita's shirt. "I can't believe it! I thought you were." Dairine trailed off, and Nita said silently,
'I was. But Kit saved me.' Dairine then let go and led Nita downstairs to her parents who sat in the dark.
"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" Nita called out, grinning from ear to ear.
***
Nita sat alone on the moon, in the usual spot. She stared back at waning earth, splashed with blue and green. Suddenly, Kit appeared at her side, sitting down on the rock next to her. He stared back at earth too. He'd just gotten the news. It was horrible, especially considering the fact that Nita had just gotten home. She'd barely gotten a chance to say goodbye.
"Everything down there seems so small compared to up here," Nita finally said monotonously, not even glancing away from Earth. "From way up here, it's hard to tell that there's even life down there. That any of it even matters." Kit gave her a pained look. "If I hadn't even come home, nothing would have changed from up here. Everything would still look the same. She still would have died." A single tear rolled down Nita's cheek.
"But it does matter. Every time something like that happens, like when you lived, the whole universe is affected, whether small or large. And it did make a difference. Thanks to us, the Lone One is once again weakened." Kit tried to cheer her up, but it was no use. He gave her a sad look, and went back to staring at the earth. After several long moments of wasting air supply and sitting in eerie silence on the moon, Kit tore his eyes away from the beautiful view. He made Nita look at him, though she didn't want to.
"And whatever happens, you'll still always have people who'll look out for you. Your friends and family are with you. And I'll bet she would have wanted you to feel good about your victory of the Lone Power," Kit told her. Nita's eyes finally met his.
"It's a never ending battle. No one wins. No one loses. It just goes on forever. The One can't be killed and he can't win either. Just like no one can conquer death, but just wait for death to conquer them." Nita said sadly. Kit leaned forward and kissed Nita. Nita closed her eyes and waited until Kit pulled away and stood up, feeling the wonderful sensation leave her lips. She opened her eyes to see Kit get ready to go.
"I'm going home. And you should too. Because staying here isn't going to make reality go away." And with that, Kit vanished into thin air. Nita waited there for several more moments, and then stood up too. He was right. No matter how long Nita wanted to put off her mother's funeral, she couldn't. She had to face it. Setting up the transit wizardry, Nita glanced back at the green and blue earth as it was engulfed by the darkness of empty space, and Nita disappeared. THE END!!!!!!