JUST LOVE

Chapter Seventeen

Ryudo and company stood outside the gates of the Birthplace of the Gods. "Well, here we are," the Geohound announced.

Elena giggled in her mind. "This place brings back memories."

Lance looked around the place for any signs of danger. "Hmm... no monsters around here, or Cathedral Knights or Nekura... at least for now," he thought.

"I wonder what's inside," Melfice told himself mentally.

Roan turned to the Automata. "Are you ready Tio?"

Tio nodded. "Yes... but I am a bit nervous."

Millenia put her hands on her hips. "Hey people, are we ever going to go inside or did we just come here to look at scenery?"

Skye laughed a bit. "We better do what she says before she goes hay wire."

"Right... we don't want her highness hurling magic spells at us, now do we?" Ryudo added and opened the gate.

"Oh shut up!" Millenia snarled.

The group entered the Birthplace of the Gods and were soon in shock as they looked around. The whole place was a mess. The walls had claw marks, holes, and blood stains on them. The ceiling was cracked and sizzling wires hung from them. There was rubble and a rotting Death Doberman carcass on a corner.

Roan looked distressed. "What happened here?"

Ryudo nudged his head towards the claw marks on the walls. "Check those out. Monsters did this."

Melfice observed the holes on the walls. "What about those holes? Those ones look like they were made from energy blasts."

"It cannot be just monsters that could have done this," Elena said.

"Interesting..." Lance thought.

"Stay alert everyone," Skye instructed.

"Ewww... this place stinks. This better be quick," Millenia complained.

"Elmo... I wonder if Elmo is all right. We must hurry everyone," Tio suggested.

"Right. Let's go," Ryudo nodded. The group walked down a wide corridor with their weapons ready for use.

Melfice heard a moving sound in the air. "Hold it! I think we're not alone anymore."

Roan looked to his left. To his left was an adjacent corridor. The corridor was dark and bright red eyes watched them from the shadows. "I think you are right."

"Look out!" Tio cried as she looked up. An Emerald Bird was headed straight towards them. The group dove to safety just in time to avoid its sharp talons.

"Here comes its friends," Millenia said as two Yetis and two Death Dobermans emerged from the adjacent corridor.

Elena heard bones rattling from behind. "That sound... I know that sound." Three Ancient Warriors stepped out from another hallway with their swords.

One of the Dobermans strode towards Tio and it circled around her as if it were sizing her. The Doberman growled and jumped forward. Tio side stepped the attack in time to avoid the animal's powerful jaws. The Doberman recovered from its attack and raised its head in the air. It howled like a wolf and casted a Howlslash at Tio. The Automata did not dodge the attack this time and was knocked off the floor.

The Doberman let out a growl of satisfaction and ran towards its soon to be meal. Tio groaned and opened her eyes to see that the Doberman pounced and was about to land on her. Quickly, she sat up and threw a Lotus Flower at it and dispatched it in mid air. "Whew... close one..." Tio sighed in relief.

Lance back flipped away from the Ancient Warrior he fought as it stretched out its sword and spun around with it. Lance put his right arm forward and fire emerged from his palm. "DARK FLARE!" the Ninja said and a big ball of flame flew out of his right palm. The attack hit the Ancient Warrior and it stopped doing its Beat Spiral.

Lance dashed towards his enemy with his Falchion held forward by both hands. He then slashed upwards with his katana but the Ancient Warrior blocked it with its sword. The bone creature reared back and thrusted its sword forwards multiple times. Lance blocked each attack with the Falchion. The Ancient Warrior then paused for a second and made another thrust but stronger. The Ninja blocked the attack yet again but the blow knocked him off the floor.

The Ancient Warrior raised its sword in the air to finish the Ninja off. Lance looked up from the floor and rolled away just in time to avoid the Warrior's sword. Lance stood up and back flipped away until he was at a safe distance. Lance raised the Falchion straight above him into the air with both hands. The Falchion's blade glowed with a blue aura and the Ninja then slashed downwards. "GET READY! DARK SLASH!" He then swept it downwards and fired a dark blue, crescent projectile at his opponent. The monster fell on the ground and before it could get up, the Ninja finished it off with a Hellburner. "Hmph... that takes care of that."

Roan casted a Crackle spell at a Yeti but missed. The Yeti let out a growl and pounded its chest with its powerful arms. The Yeti snarled and ran straight towards the Young King. "Here it comes." Roan dashed towards his enemy and slashed with the Gladius. The Yeti dodged the attack and countered with a powerful punch. The punch hit Roan on the side of his head and the attack sent him crashing to a wall.

The Yeti narrowed its eyes at Roan. He was still breathing but did not get up. With a low grunt, it stalked off to knock out the other humans. When all of the humans are unconscious, a big feast begins.

Elena whacked the other Death Doberman on the head with her Guardian Staff. The Doberman let out a whine and backed away. The Doberman hissed and circled around Elena slowly. It then pounced on her and pinned her down to the floor. Elena dropped her staff as she fell on her back. The Doberman tried to bite her head off but she caught its muzzle with her hands and forced its mouth shut. Elena let out a shriek.

Ryudo turned towards the source of the shriek and saw Elena about to be monster food. "ELENA!!" he yelled and ran towards her but an Ancient Warrior barred his path. "Out of my way!!" he growled and slashed with the Granasaber but his attack was blocked.

Saliva trickled down to Elena's shirt from the Doberman's jaws. The Doberman shook its head sideways in an attempt to free itself from Elena's grip and it was working. "Ryudo!!! Anyone!!! Help!!!"

"Elena..." Lance whispered to himself. Before the Ninja could take another step, he fell on the floor as the Yeti that just knocked out Roan attacked him from behind. The Yeti picked up the Ninja from the floor and restrained him in a bear hug. The Yeti had its arms wrapped around Lance tightly and squeezed the air out of him. "I can't breathe... someone save Elena..." he rasped.

Ryudo looked around while he parried his opponent's attacks. Roan was unconscious. Melfice was engaged in a sword fight with the other Ancient Warrior while Millenia and Tio fought the other Yeti. Lance was also in trouble. "Shit!!! Elena, hold on!!!" Ryudo thrusted the Granasaber forward but his attack was blocked again. "I have to save Elena."

"Get ready, Ryudo!" Skye said as he dove at the Ancient Warrior from behind and held onto its back with his talons. Skye flapped his wings faster and started to lift the Warrior off the floor. When the two of them were six feet above the floor, Skye dropped the Warrior.

Ryudo smirked and reared back with the Granasaber Sword. "Pay back time!" he hissed and swung his sword upwards at the Warrior before it hit the ground. The bone monster fell on the floor in half, in front of Ryudo. The Geohound kicked the monster's remains out of his way and rushed towards Elena.

"Get the hell away from her!!" Ryudo roared and kicked the Doberman off of Elena. The Doberman flew towards a corner and let out a whine. The Geohound put his left hand forward and finished the monster off with a Gad Zap.

"Ryudo, Elena, look out!" Skye cried.

Ryudo looked up and saw the Emerald Bird cast a Crackle spell at them. "Shit!!" He got down to the ground quickly and shielded Elena's body with his. The ice attack missed them but barely. Ryudo heard a faint humming sound and looked at the Emerald Bird. Its wings glowed in green. The Emerald Bird let out a screech, swung its wings forward, and fired several, sharp emerald crystals.

Ryudo picked up Elena and wrapped his arms around her. The two rolled away on the floor just in time to avoid the crystals. The Emerald Bird fired more crystals but the two kept rolling. The two stopped rolling as the Bird ceased its assault. Ryudo got off Elena and hurled a Burn! at the Bird. The Bird let out a pained screech and staggered a bit.

Elena rose from the floor and picked up her staff. She took out an Impact Bomb and threw it at the Emerald Bird. The bomb blew up on the Bird's face. The flying monster crashed down to the floor and did not get up again.

"This is my ultimate attack..." Melfice rushed at the last Ancient Warrior and slashed it with the Cardinal Blade. He then split into two images and attacked again. After that, he split into three and struck the enemy. "...the Wailing Soul Slash!!!" The blow sent the enemy flying upwards. Melfice split into four images and went after the enemy in the air. He attacked yet again and landed back to the ground gracefully. "DIE!!!" He then held his sword out to give his victim another blow as it came crashing back to the ground. The Ancient Warrior let out a cry of pain and collapsed on the floor. "I can't believe it's dead already..."

Lance dropped his katana onto the ground as he started to lose his strength from the lack of air. He was still caught in the Yeti's bear hug. "Damn... I can't die... not yet..."

Roan slowly opened his eyes and stood up. He saw the Yeti that just knocked him out was about to kill Lance. "Hold on!" he cried and picked up his Gladius from the floor. Roan ran towards the Yeti and stabbed its back.

The Yeti roared in pain and dropped Lance onto the floor. The monster turned around to see Roan back on his feet and ready for another round.

Lance gasped and panted heavily for air as he managed to get up from the ground. The Ninja picked up the Falchion from the floor and moved away slowly.

The Yeti threw a punch at Roan but he managed to dodge it. Roan hopped backwards and threw a Golden Hammer at the brown gorilla. The monster was hit on the head and grunted unintelligently. Roan held his Gladius downwards with both hands. Spikes of ice appeared behind him and flew towards the Yeti. "Chill out!!" he said as the ice spikes trapped and froze the Yeti. He ran towards the Yeti, spun around, and swung his Gladius at it. "Ice Prison!!" The ice and Yeti both shattered like glass. Roan sank on the ground on his knees and panted heavily. "Ugh... that was close."

Tio threw a Lotus Flower at the other Yeti but missed. The Yeti walked towards Millenia. The red head groaned in annoyance and put her hand forward. "You know what, I've just had enough of you!" she growled and hurled a Burn! at the monster but it was not enough to finish it off. Millenia sprouted her black wings and casted a Starving Tongue at the monster to drain its energy and use it to replace what she lost. The monster fell on its knees as its stamina was stolen. Millenia put on a crafty smile and used a Zap! on the Yeti. "Deep fried goodness!!" The monster whined and fell on the ground on its back.

The group gathered around as they defeated all of the monsters. "Is everyone all right?" Ryudo asked.

The others nodded their heads unison. "We are okay. We must hurry to Elmo," Tio replied.

The group continued their journey to the third level of the Birthplace of the Gods. It took them quite a while to get there with monsters that attacked them here and there. Ryudo and company stood in front of the power room's door. "This is it," Ryudo told everyone and entered through the door with everyone behind him.

Tio gasped softly as her amber yellow eyes travelled around the room. The room was in ruins just like the rest of the place. "Who... who would do some thing like this?" she asked herself. The Automata looked around the room to search for Elmo. Elmo was not attached to the wall where they first met her. She lay on the floor and she was seriously injured. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were shut, and half of her face was covered with bloody scratches.

"ELMO!!" Tio cried as she ran to her. The Android knelt down next to Elmo. "Elmo!! Elmo!! Please answer me!!"

Elmo let out a soft moan escape her lips. "Ti... Tio? Is that you?"

Tio felt horrible to see Elmo in such a bad condition. Her new found heart ache with pain and small tears flowed down her cheeks from her amber yellow eyes. "Yes... it is I."

"It is dangerous.... "he" might come here again... and destroy all of you... What... are you doing here...?"

"We came to ask you about my origin..." Tio answered.

"The Automatas' origin? Very well..." Elmo's antennas sparkled and shot a small, ball of blue light at Tio's. "Tio... I am glad I could help you once again... good bye..." Elmo rasped and her world faded away, permanently.

Tio shook Elmo's body frantically as more tears ran down her cheeks and soft sobs escaped her lips. "Elmo!! Elmo!!! Please open your eyes again!!! Do not die... Elmo!!!"

Ryudo and the others stood by the door and watched Tio wept. "Elmo... she's gone..." Ryudo whispered to himself.

Roan walked up to Tio and stood next to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a sympatheic look. "Tio, I am very sorry."

"It is horrible Roan..." Tio said quietly.

"What did Elmo say? What did she give you?" Roan asked.

"Information..." Tio sniffed.

Ryudo strode towards the Automata with the others behind him. "Did she tell you who did this?"

Tio stood up and wiped her tears away. "Yes... she did." Tio took a few steps forward and searched her mind, her data banks. Her antennas sparkled and shot a ball of yellow light towards the center of the room. The ball vanished and a big white screen appeared at the center of the room. The screen was static for a few seconds and then it started to play...

***

Elmo hung on the wall peacefully. Everything in the Birthplace of the Gods was fine and quiet as usual. But then, the door slid open and a young man in a purple ninja gi entered the room, Nekura.

"YES!! YES!!! I've found it!!! The power... it's all mine!!!" Nekura cackled and walked around the room.

"What is your business here stranger?" Elmo asked.

Nekura ignored the Automata on the wall and laughed. "The Birthplace of the Gods... This is the place where Granas and Valmar ascended as Gods!! ...and now I shall become a God myself... a God of destruction!!!" Nekura unsheathed his katana and walked towards Elmo. "Tell me, how do I get the machine to work?!! Now!!!"

"You have no authorization to run the machine, please leave," Elmo answered.

"You better do what I say unless you want to end up as a pile of heap!!" Nekura snarled.

"You have been warned once, I will not warn you again. Activating defense system.... aaahhhh!!"

Nekura had casted a Gad Zap on Elmo for her incooperative behaviour. "Who needs you? I'll do this myself!!" The psychotice ninja strode towards a computer terminal and started to type on the keyboard.

"St... stop... you are making a mistake..." Elmo rasped.

"Shut up bitch!!" Nekura roared and hurled a stronger Gad Zap spell at the Android.

"EAAYYYGGGHHH!!" Elmo screeched as lightning fried every single circuit in her body. The lower part of Elmo's body blew up. She fell off the wall and crashed down to the ground. "Please... stop..." Elmo pleaded and her world turned black as energy drained out of her body.

"That's better," Nekura smirked at the fallen Elmo and continued to hack on the computer. He was a Ninja and like Lance, computer hacking was one of his many talents. "BWAHAHAHH HAAA!! I did it!! I did it!!! It's only a matter of time!!!"

Nekura walked towards the center of the room and stood there. "Begin Ascension!!" he commanded at the system. The computers in the room powered up and glowed. Nekura was soon engulfed in a purple light. "YES!! YES!!! I feel it!! I feel the power!!!" he exclaimed triumphantly as he felt enormous amounts of power surge through his body.

The computers then powered down and the purple light around the Ninja vanished. Nekura flexed his arms and looked at his palms. With an evil grin, he put his right arm forward and fired several beams at the computers. "There... no one else can be a God now...."

***

The screen went fuzzy but the voice of Nekura, explosions, and beams fired could be heard. The group heard Nekura cackle once more and the screen went blank. "Is he not the man that attacked us back from Garlan?" Elena asked.

Ryudo nodded. "It's him all right and it looks like he received powers like Valmar's from this place."

"Nekura... a God? I find this hard to believe..." Lance thought.

"Well, now at least we know something about the psycho that attacked you guys, " Millenia scoffed.

Roan turned to Tio. The Automata had stopped crying and had calmed down a bit. "Tio... did Elmo give you anything else?"

"Did she give you any information about the Cathedral Knights?" Melfice inquired.

Tio shook her head slowly. "No... just about "him" and my past." Fresh tears came out of Tio's amber yellow eyes. She let out another sob and ran out of the room.

"Tio!" Roan called after her.

"Let her go. She's confused and overwhelmed... give her time to think," Skye said.

"Please be okay Tio," Roan whispered to himself.

***

Tio ran away from her friends. She did not want to be seen crying herself out. But, she could not help it. The loss of Elmo and her new found knowledge about her past hurt, a lot. Tio replayed some of her memories and Elmo's in her head as she ran down a hallway.

---
In the middle of a beautiful meadow was a little house. A little girl with blue hair and amber yellow eyes and her mother were at the backyard. Tio ran to her mother. The mother sat on a chair while she made a cross stitch of an Orca. "Tio, what's wrong?" the mother asked as she sensed that her little daughter started to get excite about something.

"Mom, I saw a butteryfly, it looked so beautiful. Can I catch it and then keep it? Can I?" Tio replied hyper actively.

"No dear, butterflies belong out here, not with humans."

Tio pouted a bit. "Oh... Well, can I at least watch it?"

"Sure you can. Just don't wander off too far, okay?"

"Okay, mom." The five year old Tio giggled a bit in excitement and left to follow the butterfly she saw earlier.

Tio found the butterfly on a Bleeding Hearts and watched in pure curiousity as the insect fed off the flower's nectar. After awhile, the butterfly finished its meal and took off. Tio looked up and stared at the beautiful markings on the insect's wings. She was fixated by them and started to follow the insect. The butterfly kept flying and Tio kept following and did not even notice that she wandered out of the backyard and into the open meadow. Soon, Tio ended up in the woods and there she finally noticed that she was not in the right place.

"Uh oh, I better get back," Tio told herself. The child turned around and saw a man in front of her.

"Hello little girl, what are you doing here?"

"I... I was just following a butterfly..." Tio said.

"A butterfly? You know, if you come with me, I can show you more."

"No thank you. I should be going now." Tio took a step forward to leave but the man blocked her path.

"The butterflies are really... nice. Come with little girl... I INSIST."
---
Tio sat in a corner of a cage. The man from the woods had taken her against her wishes. Her hands were on her face to cover the tears that flooded her eyes. "I... do not like this place... I want to go home..." Tio sobbed. The child felt so alone, so powerless in the cage. She wanted to go home to her parents for she missed them dearly and their loving embrace. Tio heard the door open and looked up to see who it was. It was the man that kidnapped her.

"I want to go home," Tio whined.

"You're not going anywhere," he chuckled and walked over to her. "Say little girl, what's your name?"

"Tio."

"Tio... well then, I guess we're calling the operation 'Project Tio'," the man told himself.

"What are you going to do to me?!"

"You'll find out soon. You're going to make a difference. With time and technology, you're going to help the people of Cyrum crush those Granas worshippers." The man bent down a bit and grabbed Tio's arm.

"Let me go!!! Let go of me!!!" Tio screeched as the man dragged her away from her cage.
---
A thirteen year old Tio lay on a table in a lab. Her waist was strapped and her arms and legs were shackled so she could not move at all. Two scientists in lab coats stood next to her. "What are you going to do to me now?" she asked.

"Today... you become a soldier of Valmar," one of the scientists answered.

The other man took out a syringe with a yellow liquid in it. "This will hurt a bit," he snickered and injected the substance into Tio's right arm.

Tio moaned and her world darkened. She fell into a deep sleep while the scientists began "Project Tio."

A few hours had passed and Tio woke up from her sleep. She felt strange... she felt nothing. No emotions. She sat up from the table and looked around the lab. Where was she? How did she end up in the lab? She could not remember anything that happened in the past. She did not even know who she was. Tio did not know what to do. She did not know if she should wait for someone to come to her or leave. She needed commands.
---
In the Birthplace of the Gods, at the main room, two scientists reported to a man dressed in royal clothing, the King of Cyrum. Elmo was also there, she hung on the wall and watched the discussion. "How did the operation go?" the King demanded.

"Your highness, it was successful. We were able to replace most of the girl's body with machine parts. We have created an Automata, a super soldier. Tio is far superior to our human soldiers. She needs less food and rest. She is also a skilled fighter. She is as well equipped with antennas that can receive and transmit information, making her a valuable communicating device."

"When will the mass production begin?" the King said.

"Mass production of the Automata will begin soon. Unlike humans, these soldiers will be expendable. We can send them to dangerous missions without the fear of losing lives. If we lose them, we can always make more."

"Unlike humans, the Automata will be very obedient. They will follow our orders without hesitation. Without commands, they're helpless. However, should the Automata turn on us by any reason, we also have that covered." The first scientist pointed at the computer terminals in the room.

The second scientist spoke. "The girl's memories have been removed from her mind and are kept in the computers here. If they try to betray us, we can use her memories to blackmail her or them."

The King rubbed his chin. "Splendid... that is all I can say. You two and your team have done a very good job."

"Thank you, your excellency," both of them said.

The King chuckled a bit. "Oh by the way, once the mass production is done, why don't you send a batch of Automata to the Granas Cathedral for a little test? Let's see what Pope Dram will think of these..."
---

Tio finally reached the exit and slowed down her pace to a walk. She opened the door and stepped into the outside world. Tio strode towards a big boulder and sat on top of it. Now that she knew her origin, questions flooded her mind. What happened to her parents after she was kidnapped? Did they try to find her? Did they have another child? With all these questions in mind, Tio knew one thing; she would never know. Her parents had been dead for more than one thousand years now. The Automata curled into a tight ball and hugged herself. She had never felt so alone and hurt since she lost Mareg. Tio drowned in her grief, unaware that a pair of glowing green eyes watched her from the woods nearby.

***

"Do you think she went outside?" Roan asked the group as they walked down a corridor with the exit nearby.

"Maybe letting her go wasn't such a good idea..." Skye chuckled nervously who was perched on Ryudo's shoulder as usual.

Millenia glared at the bird. "Now you tell us."

Melfice pointed somone ahead of them. Tio left the doors open so the group could see her from the inside. "There she is, she's outside."

"TIO!" Roan called out and ran towards her. Skye, Millenia, Melfice, and Lance followed the Young King.

Ryudo stopped on his tracks as he noticed that Elena was not following. He turned around to see her on the ground. The famous singer was tying the laces together on her left boot. He walked towards her with a smirk on his face. "Hey, Princess, you need help with that?"

Elena looked up to the Geohound with a smile on her face. "No thank you. This will take just a second."

***

"Tio!" Roan cried as he ran towards the Automata. "Here you are. We were looking all over for you."

Tio turned to Roan and tried her best not to look sad. "I am sorry. I just..."

Roan gave the Automata a pat on the shoulder. "Hey, do not worry about it. But just so you know, you can come and talk to us about what Elmo gave you."

Tio smiled weakly. "Thank you."

Millenia hugged herself as she got goosebumps on her arms all of a sudden. "Look kids, this is all very touching but I get the feeling we're being watched."

Lance looked around. The Ninja then saw a big shadow move around the woods nearby. "There!" he yelled. All heads shot towards the trees to see a big, red Tyrannosaurus looking dragon emerge from the woods. "Look who's back..."

The dragon roared and fired a big ball of flame at the group but the gang dove out of the way and hit the entrance to the Birthplace of the Gods instead.

***

Ryudo heard a big explosion and turned around to see where it came from. The ceiling near the exit blew up. Debris and rubble fell down on to the floor from the ceiling and blocked the way out. "Oh, shit," Ryudo gasped. Ryudo ran towards the rubble with Elena behind him. He tried to move the things in his way but the objects were too big and heavy.

An alarmed looked crossed Elena's face. "Ryudo, are we..."

Ryudo faked a laugh. "Don't worry Elena, I've got a plan. Stand back."

Elena took a few steps backwards. "Okay."

Ryudo put his hand forward and aimed a Howlslash towards the big pile of ruins. The Howslash did nothing to the barricade. Instead, the ceiling rumbled again and more rubble fell onto the floor. "Damn, maybe I should use a Dragon Zap instead!"

"Ryudo no! You could make things worse! A Dragon Zap could cause the entire corridor to collapse and bury us alive," Elena said.

Ryudo kicked the barricade in front of him. "Damn it!! We're stuck!"