JUST LOVE

Chapter Twelve

Nekura put his hand forward as he began to gather energy for a Ba-Boom! He looked at Elena devilishly and cackled. "You'll perish with the Geohound, Ninja, and the Bird for interfering!!!"

Kneeling beside the fallen Ryudo, Elena cradled his head on her lap and hugged his body to hers fiercely and protectively. Elena looked at Nekura with her ruby red eyes burning like fire. "I will not let you harm Ryudo!!" she protested. Elena nuzzled Ryudo's cheek and whispered, "do not worry Ryudo, I will take care of you. Everything will be fine." Elena slowly placed Ryudo back on the ground and stood up. She took out her Guardian Staff and held it forward. "Staff of nightmare!" she said as her staff flew out of her hands and circled around Nekura while shooting out bubbles.

"AAAAHHHH!!!!" Nekura screamed as the bubbles hit him. The bubbles stung like acid when it eats away skin. Nekura fell on the ground on his knees, starting to feel light headed like the world was fading away. "I can't lose... to this girl...!!!" he rasped and forced himself to stand up. With a grunt, he hurled a Burn! spell at Elena.

"I will not let you hurt Ryudo," Elena said in a monotone voice. With a wave of her hand, a barrier formed around her, nullifying the Burn! spell as it hit the shield. The Guardian Staff then returned to its master and Elena went into her fighting stance as she got her staff back.

Nekura paused for a moment and examined her opponent. "She's stronger than I thought," he told himself mentally. A blue aura started to form around Elena. Nekura gasped at the energy Elena was radiating. "How... such power... how could someone like her have so much power?"

Elena thought about Ryudo, Skye, and Lance and her aura burned and shined even more. Elena stood on her toes and raised her wand in the air. "Please Earth, answer me!" she cried. The ground rumbled violently and started to crack.

"Damn it!" Nekura cursed to himself and jumped high in the air to escape Elena's attack. The cracks on the ground grew wider and pillars of lava erupted from the ground. One of the pillars hit Nekura and knocked him out of the air.

As Nekura hit the ground, the ground returned back to normal as if the Quake spell was never used. Elena walked towards the intruder slowly with fury in her eyes. "Ryudo..." she whispered. Elena gasped as she felt something trying to crawl out of her back. She bent down to her waist and sprouted white, angel wings.

Nekura stood up from the ground and looked at his opponent. "No way!! She has wings!!! She... she's a..." he gasped.

Elena held her staff in the air and casted several Crackle spells all at once. "Oh Holy storm of ice!"

Nekura was pummelled with the ice attacks. He felt his blood run cold and the sharp ice crystals cut through his skin. As soon as he recovered from the attack, he back flipped away to avoid another Crackle. Elena was merciless, she casted Crackle spells one after another. Nekura was jumping all over the place to keep himself from getting hit. "She has a lot of power, it's almost limitless. But it seems that she can't control it and doesn't know what she can do with it," he thought while dodging another Crackle. Nekura reared back with his right arm and then extended it forward, firing a purple energy beam at Ryudo and the others. "Say good bye to your friends!!" he cackled.

"No... Ryudo..." Elena whispered and flew straight towards the others. She formed a barrier around her and the others before Nekura's beam could hit them.

Nekura's attack was nullified by the barrier but he would not let something like that stop him. Laughing maliciously, he fired several more beams at the barrier. Elena could feel her shield weakening from the enemy's attack and made it stronger. Nekura did not stop attacking, the more the barrier got stronger, the more he attacked. After awhile, Elena started to tire. She could not keep the barrier up any longer. Nekura's attack were just too strong to repel.

Lance groaned in pain and slowly opened his eyes. He could see Nekura shooting beams at them but Elena, with a barrier, stood between the enemy and him, Ryudo, and Skye. He also noticed something different about Elena, she had angel wings. "She... she has wings. I knew it... it's really her. I have to... help her..." he winced and stood up.

Nekura fired one more beam at Elena and her barrier completely collapsed. Elena sank on the ground, gasping and panting for her breath. Her aura and wings vanished. "Ryudo... I am sorry..." she rasped and the world faded away.

Lance ran towards the fallen Elena and knelt beside her. "Elena, ELENA!!!" he panicked as he shook her shoulders frantically. The Ninja heard Nekura laugh. He stood up and turned towards him. "You'll pay for what you did to her!!" he glared at him. Lance's ruby red eyes burned like fire. He closed his eyes and his black, leather trench coat, began to glow in red. With a silent grunt, his trench coat materialized into a pair of black wings on his back that looked similar to Millenia's. Lance opened his eyes and smirked underneath his mask at the surprised look on Nekura's face.

"Hmmm... he has wings too..." Nekura told himself mentally. "Just what are you?" he asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Lance replied in his usual cold, monotone voice. "Why are you here? What do you want from these people?"

Nekura scoffed. "Ha! Like I'd tell you!" he laughed maniacally.

Lance looked into Nekura's eyes and saw nothing but pure insanity. "Nekura..." he whispered. Keeping his eyes on his enemy, Lance walked over to his katana and picked it up from the ground. Lance raised the Falchion straight above him into the air. "GET READY! DARK SLASH!" He then swept it downwards, firing a dark blue, crescent projectile at Nekura.

Nekura dodged the attack effortlessly. "His power has increased... just like the girl."

Lance dashed forward with his katana held forward by both hands. His black wings were stretched out and flapped once in awhile to help him gain speed. "You leave me no choice..." he whispered mentally.

With a grunt, Nekura blasted to the sky and put his arm forward. Chuckling, he fired several purple beams with his hand. "DIE!" he laughed.

With a strong flap from his black wings, Lance took to the air to pursue his enemy while dodging Nekura's attacks. When he caught up to his opponent, he swung the Falchion forward but Nekura blocked it with his own katana, Zankuro. Lance gritted his teeth underneath his mask and forced all of his strength into his katana, trying to break the enemy's defence and cut him down.

"Things are going to end here and now!" Nekura hissed as he pushed Lance away.

". . . . . ." Lance put one hand forward and casted a Poizn spell on Nekura. The attack caused minimal damage and it did not take its effect. He then dashed forward and slashed with his Falchion from right to left, knocking Nekura's katana away from his hand.

Nekura watched his katana fall on the ground and then glared daggers at his opponent. "Why you..." he growled.

Lance did not say anything, he just punched him on the face with his left arm. After that attack, he kneed Nekura on the stomach with his left foot and elbowed him with his right arm on the stomach again. He then spun around, his right leg extended forward, giving Nekura a taste of his slipper on the face. He quickly put his Falchion away and raised both hands in the air. He put his fists together and brought them down, hammering his opponent on the back, sending Nekura crashing to the ground.

Nekura landed on his back with a loud thud. He coughed up some blood and stood up with his body shaking from pain. He picked up Zankuro from the ground and went into a fighting stance.

Lance landed on a rooftop and watched Nekura shoot dirty looks at him. His black wings materialized back into his black, leather trench coat. "How am I suppose to beat this guy? He just keeps coming back for more."

Nekura was about to go after Lance but heard someone walking towards him from his right. He looked to his right to see a Dragon Zap! fly straight towards him.

"Feel the wrath of the sky!!" Ryudo yelled as the attack sent the enemy flying to a trash can. "Was that enough for you?!!"

Groaning, Nekura got up from the ground and felt his head spinning. Everything was blurry like the world started fading away from his eyes. "I have to get out of here..." he rasped. He smiled as he heard Ryudo taunt him. "You'll... pay for this... You may have... wi... win this time... but... I'll be back... that I guarantee you...!!!" he growled, a bit incoherently. With a grunt, he took to the air and flew towards the horizon while laughing.

The cold, violent rains, thunder, and lightning finally stopped. The dark clouds that filled the sky cleared and was replaced by the colour blue and the sun's gentle shine and warmth. "Finally... he's gone," Ryudo sighed to himself and ran towards Elena. He knelt beside her and ran his fingers down her cheek. "Elena, wake up. Come on, open your eyes," Ryudo pleaded silently.

Lance jumped off the rooftop and watched Ryudo try to wake Elena up. Ryudo looked really worried, nervous, and panic stricken. It looked like the world was going to end if Elena did not wake up. "He cares deeply for her..." he thought. Lance walked over to Ryudo. "She's out cold," he said.

Ryudo looked up to the Ninja. "Don't just stand there!! Give me a hand here!!" Ryudo hissed and picked up Elena from the ground carefully.

Lance did not say anything and walked over to Skye. With one hand, he picked up the talking eagle.

"Let's bring them back to my house," Ryudo instructed and carried Elena away.

Lance nodded and followed the Geohound.

***

Ryudo brought Elena to her room and placed her on the bed. He then pulled up a chair to the bed to watch over her. Lance leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest as usual. Skye had gained consciousness when they got to Ryudo's house and sat on top of a dresser.

Ryudo mentally scolded himself for letting himself get defeated by Nekura. If he was stronger, faster, and more clever, he could have beaten the enemy and Elena would not have come to their aid. He does not know what he would do if Nekura managed to kill Elena. He just wished that things turned out differently so Elena would not be laying on the bed right now. He also wished that there is something he could do the next time they meet Nekura so this would never happen again. Nekura was a powerful enemy and it took all of his power and probably all of Lance's to take him down. "Elena... this is all my fault..." Ryudo whispered to himself.

Lance felt the same as Ryudo. He blamed himself for what happened to Elena. If he was not knocked out from the battle, he could have protected Elena. He swore to himself that he would protect her secretly, no matter what but he just failed her. At least now, Elena is safe and his suspicions about her have been confirmed. And Nekura, Lance knew him from his past. Lance and Nekura came from the same Ninja clan. "He's back... I thought he was dead. I wonder what he wants?" Lance asked himself. Lance sighed in exasperation and whatever was left of his heart ached, things in his life just got even more complicated and more messed up.

Skye heard Lance sigh and looked at him. The Ninja was in his usual posture and his face wore its usual cold look. Lance's ruby red eyes looked empty and were void of any emotions or feelings. He wondered what is going on in the Ninja's head. Skye then looked at Ryudo. He was glad to see that Ryudo was taking care of Elena. He was even more glad that he loved Elena. Ryudo used to be cold and unfeeling but Elena managed to tame him and break down the walls that Ryudo built between himself and his past and emotions. Now, Skye just wished that Ryudo would just tell Elena how he feels and settle down with her.

Ryudo stood up from his chair and turned to leave.

"Going somewhere?" Skye asked.

"I have to go to take care of something. It'll be quick. But until then, you have to watch over Elena," Ryudo replied.

"Okay. Just get back here as soon as you can," Skye nodded.

"Thanks." Ryudo walked towards the door way and stopped there to look at the Ninja.

"He's looking at me pretty suspiciously. I wonder if he saw my wings," Lance thought.

Ryudo looked long and hard as if he was searching for something in Lance's eyes. The Ninja's eyes were hollow, he found nothing in them. Without saying anything to the Ninja, Ryudo left the room to take care of his business.

"Where do you think he's going? I'm surprised he'd leave Elena like this," Skye asked.

"Hmph. Why are you asking me? Why didn't you ask him?" Lance replied coldly.

The two then heard a soft moan. They shot their heads towards Elena and heard her moan out again. Elena opened her eyes and found herself in a room. She sat up from the bed and saw Skye sitting on the dresser and Lance leaning against the door way. Both of them were looking at her. "Skye?" Elena groaned groggily.

"It's okay Elena. We brought you back to your room," Skye said.

Elena looked around the room, someone was missing. "Ryudo? Where is Ryudo?"

Skye flew towards Elena and perched himself on the night stand beside the bed. "You just missed him. He left to take care of something."

Elena put her hands together on her chest. "Is it that man that attacked us?"

Skye shook his head. "No, he is gone, he retreated."

Lance walked towards Elena and stood beside her bed. "He didn't really say where he was exactly going. But he'll be back soon."

"Oh." Elena's stomach rumbled and then she chuckled embarrassingly. "I guess I am a little hungry after that battle. I am sorry."

Skye laughed a bit. "It's all right. Do you want to eat anything?" Elena nodded and was about to get off the bed but Skye stopped her. "Hold it. You should stay in bed until Ryudo gets back."

"He's right. I'll just go downstairs to get you something," Lance agreed.

"Th... thank you," Elena smiled.

"It's nothing." Lanced turned around and left the room to go to the kitchen.

***

Ryudo walked up the stairs that would lead to Elena's room. He just got back from "taking care of his business." He walked slowly with a million thoughts racing through his mind. Ryudo paused for a moment as he heard Elena's voice. "Elena..." he gasped and ran up to the room. Ryudo entered the room and found Elena sitting on the bed with a plate of food on her lap.

Elena put her food aside as she set her eyes on Ryudo. "Hi Ryudo. Where have you been?" she smiled.

Ryudo missed what Elena said and strode towards her. "I'm glad you're up Elena. How are you?"

Elena got off the bed. "I am okay."

Ryudo put his hands on her shoulders. "Why didn't you stay inside the house? You shouldn't have fought that guy. You could've gotten killed."

Elena looked away. "I was really worried about you. I just could not bear to sit around in here while you were out there fighting. Besides, I do not see why I could not fight that man with you. I did help defeat Valmar last year."

Ryudo sighed. "Things are different now."

Elena's voice rose a notch. "How are they different?!"

"This looks bad. I better do something," Skye thought. "Say Ryudo, exactly where did you go or what did you do?"

Ryudo looked at Skye. "I had to get something back."

Elena broke away from Ryudo and sat down on the bed. "Get what?"

Ryudo took out a scabbard and withdrew the sword from it. He held the sword in front of everyone so they could see it. "The Granasaber. I left to get it back from Grail Mountain where I hid it."

"So that's the so called "Divine Sword," the sword of hope and the sword that defeated Valmar," Lance thought.

"I thought there is no more need for that," Elena said.

"I think we'll need its power again with the Cathedral Knights and that guy running around," Ryudo replied.

"Are you sure it's necessary? We can handle the Cathedral Knights just fine and the intruder... well, we could find another way to deal with him," Skye asked.

Ryudo shook his head. "I'm not taking any chances. That guy almost took us out and what if there were others like him?"

Elena frowned. "Who was he anyway?"

"I haven't seen him," Skye answered.

"I don't know him either but he has the crest of Valmar on the back of his gi shirt," Ryudo added.

Elena looked alarmed. "Do you think he could be a Valmar incarnate?"

"No way! We destroyed Valmar and Zera!! It's impossible!!" Ryudo said coldly.

"In any case, we don't know who or what we're dealing with. The only thing we know is that he's extremely dangerous," Skye told everyone.

Ryudo looked at Lance. "Hey, what about you? Do you know the guy that just attacked us?"

"No," was all Lance said.

"I am worried about everyone now. That mad man could be anywhere by now. What if Millenia and the others run into him?" Elena asked.

"You're right. The others are in trouble if they meet him," Ryudo agreed.

"What is our course of action now?" Skye asked.

"We... we should go to St. Heim and get the others. We better start packing up." Ryudo turned to Elena. "Elena you..."

Elena cut him off. "Do not tell me to stay here. I am coming with you regardless of what you say." Elena got up from the bed and walked towards the doorway. She stopped there and gave Ryudo a determined look. "I am going to start packing and... I will not let you stop me." With that, Elena left.

Ryudo sighed. "What if she gets hurt or something?"

Skye gave the Geohound a sympathetic look. "I know that you're trying to keep her away from danger. But, try to understand that she'd rather be in danger with you by her side. She..."

"That's enough Skye!!" Ryudo snapped and stormed out of the room to get his supplies.

Lance chuckled to himself silently and exited the room as well.

***

Ryudo and company left his house as soon as they finished packing their belongings for the journey ahead. They went to the Skyway Station and boarded the flight for St. Heim.

Lance entered the lounge to keep himself occupied. There were so many things in his head that he was getting a headache. The Ninja looked to his left and saw a little Leprechaun sitting on a pot of gold at a corner. The Leprechaun smiled and waved at him. "Okay..." Lance frowned and ignored it. He walked towards a table with a group of men playing cards and sat down to join them. "I'm in," he said coldly.

"The game is Asshole," a short man with a pair of glasses said.

Lance scoffed. "Fine with me."

A tall, fat man then shuffled the cards and started handing them out to everyone. The first card Lance got was the three of clubs. "Damn it..." he growled through clenched teeth. Lance looked away and saw the Leprechaun waving at him again from the corner. "Who is that?" he asked himself and picked up the rest of his cards from the table. "Wow," he gasped silently as he arranged his cards. Aside from the three, he was guaranteed to win with his hand. He had two twos, two aces, and the rest of his hand were face cards.

Elena stood alone in the deck. She watched the clouds pass by but she was not really watching them. Her mind was somewhere else. Her thoughts were on Ryudo. She noticed that Ryudo has been pushing her away. Ryudo would not let her help, journey, fight, nothing. He would rather have her sit tight at his house and wait. Waiting would just kill her from worrying too much. She would rather stay by his side no matter what. Why can't Ryudo just see that?

Ryudo watched Elena from afar. It hurt to see her with a pained look on her face. He knew he was the reason why she was upset. But, he is just doing what other men would probably do; keep her away from danger. "Being with your girl is good but keeping her safer is better," he told himself. Until all the threats in the world are gone, he cannot be with Elena. Being with Elena now would just put her in danger and would just distract him from his goals. Why can't Elena just see that?

Ryudo looked at Elena one more time and went to the lounge. He sat down on a table, alone. Skye then came and perched himself on his shoulder.

"Why won't you go out there and talk to her? Comfort her, tell her how you feel," Skye suggested.

"I can't, I won't," Ryudo protested.

"Say she stayed in Garlan. What if you got killed or she found someone else while you were gone? What will you do then? You will never get to see her again."

"It doesn't matter if I die. It'll be worth it if the world becomes a safer place for her."

"Stubborn as usual," Skye thought and decided it was hopeless to argue with him right now. "I hope you know what you're doing Ryudo. I hope you won't do anything that you'd regret later." With that, Skye flew away.

Ryudo sighed heavily. Aside from Elena, he has to worry about the road ahead as well. The flight attendant told him earlier that the Skyway cannot go to St. Heim due to attacks. The flight would stop in the town of Mirumu. He has to worry about Melfice and the others as well. He just hoped that they are okay. "Hold on Melfice, we're coming."