JUST LOVE

Chapter Nineteen

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.

"ELENA!!!" Lance screamed in his head as he saw the entrance to the Birth Place of the Gods collapse. The Ninja ran towards the entrance and tried to remove the barricade in front of him but to no avail.

"DAMMIT!! Where did that thing come from?" Millenia cursed to herself. She stood up from the ground and took out her Black Angel Bow. She aimed for the red dragon and fired two arrows at it. The arrows barely pierced its scaly body.

"I will tear you pieces!" Roan yelled out as he casted a Howl spell on the dragon. The dragon staggered a bit from the attack and roared again.

The dragon reared its head back and spat out a big ball of fire at Lance, who was still trying to remove the pile of rubble in front of him. "Lance!! Look out!!!" Millenia cried.

Lance turned around to see a fire ball headed straight at him. There was no time to avoid it. The Ninja braced himself for the attack and shielded himself with his trench coat. There was an explosion as the fire ball met the Ninja. When the dust cleared from the explosion, everyone saw Lance, still in his defensive position, with no scratches on him or on his trench coat.

"He wasn't even scratched... I guess that's one heavy duty trench coat he's wearing..." Millenia said to herself mentally.

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 several dark blue, crescent projectiles at the dragon. He hit the dragon on the neck but the attack did not affect it that much.

"This is one tough lizard," Melfice growled. Melfice held the Cardinal Blade in the air with both hands. "HAA!!!" He then brought the sword down to the ground. "Demon Horde Slash!!!" A huge, crest of blue swords formed on the ground and the crest released destructive energy.

The dragon lost its balance a bit from Melfice's attack but quickly regained it. It then spat a fire ball at the blue haired man. Melfice did not avoid the attack in time and sailed across the air as he got hit. He landed on a bush and lay there.

"This thing is as strong as ever. How are we suppose to beat it?!" Lance asked himself mentally.

The red dragon growled in triumph and ran towards Melfice.

Tio raised her hands in the air and summoned a tornado. "Release wind," she said. Tio's Tornado advanced towards the dragon and hurled the giant lizard in the air. A loud thud echoed throughout the rocky meadow as the dragon crashed down to the ground.

The giant lizard let out a small whine and got up again. It then charged at Roan and Tio and whipped them with its tail. The blow from the attack sent the two flying to a nearby tree. At the corner of its eye, it saw Millenia about to fire her crossbow. Quickly, it turned around and fired a blast of flame at the red head.

"We can't beat this thing! It's too strong!" Millenia growled as the dragon's attack just barely missed her.

Lance raised his hand in the air and casted an Alhealer. "Spirits of life, shed your holy light!"

Roan, Tio, and Melfice felt the pain drain out of their bodies and stood up. The three ran up to Millenia and Lance.

"Nothings seems to affect this monster," Tio said.

"That's why we have to get out of here," Millenia replied impatiently.

"What about Mister Ryudo and Miss Elena?" Roan asked.

"I think they can take care of themselves," Melfice answered.

"Besides, if we stay here any longer, that thing will eat us," Millenia added.

"I can just fly out of here but what about the rest of you? I don't think that dragon is just going to let you go," Skye told everyone.

"I've got us covered." Lance reached inside his trench coat and took out a black sphere. He threw it at the dragon and it exploded into a cloud of smoke as it hit the giant lizard. "There's no time to waste! Let's go!" the Ninja yelled and ran with everyone behind him.

"You had smoke bombs in that trench coat of yours and you didn't tell us?! You could have saved us a lot of trouble!!" Millenia growled.

Lance did not say anything. He just kept running for his life. ". . . . . ."

"Quit whining, as long as we made it out of there in one piece, everything is okay with me," Melfice said.

Roan looked behind them and his eyes widened. "Uh... whatever happens, do not look back, just keep running as fast as you can," he laughed nervously.

Tio looked back. "The dragon is back. It appears that it managed to follow us."

"What the fu...?!" Millenia exclaimed as she saw the dragon gaining on them. "This is ridiculous." She took out her Black Angel Bow and loaded an arrow. "This may sting a little." She aimed for the dragon's head and fired.

The dragon avoided the arrow and countered with a tail whip. Millenia was knocked off the ground. The dragon licked its lips with its tongue and lunged for the red head.

"Millenia!" Melfice cried and dove at her. He held onto her waist and rolled away from the dragon. "You okay?"

"I will be when you get off of me."

"Oh." The blue haired man did not realize he was still on top of her. Melfice stood up and helped Millenia up.

"Golden Hammer... Crash!" Roan yelled as he threw a big hammer at the lizard to keep it at bay.

"Lotus Flower... bloom," Tio said as she hurled a pink projectile at the enemy.

"There's no way we could beat this thing... at least not like this. We have to get out of here... now," Lance told himself mentally. The Ninja put his hand up in the air and yelled out, "Dark spirits of the forests, gather and destroy!" Green bubbles formed around the dragon and poisoned it as they popped.

"That should slow it down. Let's go, now!" Skye announced as he went ahead of everyone.

Roan, Tio, Lance, and Melfice nodded to each other and followed Skye.

Millenia shot an arrow first at the dragon before she left. "Bastard."

The group ran past the rocky plains and were now in the forest. "Did we lose it?" Tio asked everyone.

"I don't know. Just keep running," Millenia answered.

The group soon came across a bridge that would lead them to the other side of the forest. However, the bridge was in a bad shape.

"No way, I'm crossing that thing!" Millenia complained.

"But it is the only way across." Roan tried to reason with her.

Millenia put her hands on her hips and glared at the group. "What if that piece of crap break down while we're crossing, huh?!"

Lance looked down the cliff. "It's a long way down and the current of the river is unsafe should we fall down," he thought.

"What if we all cross together?" Melfice suggested.

"Fine with me. But, if we fall down, I'm putting all the blame on you," Millenia snarled at the blue haired man.

Melfice crossed the bridge first and stopped when he was halfway through. "See? It's okay." The rest then walked up to him to catch up. "What did I tell you?"

"Oh shut up," Millenia said. Before the group could continue, they heard a rather familiar growl from behind. The group sweat dropped and their faces fell as they turned around and saw the dragon back for more.

"This is not good," Melfice pointed out.

"Well, duh, we can see that," Millenia scoffed.

The red dragon hissed and fired a blast of flame at the old bridge. The ropes that held the bridge in place snapped and then the whole thing fell apart.

" 'See? It's okay.' " Millenia mimicked Melfice in a mocking tone before they fell down the river. There was a big splash as the group hit the water. They tried to fight the current and get to the shore but it was too strong. The current swept them away and took them all downstream.

***

Millenia felt hot and her head swam. She opened her eyes slowly but shut them quickly as intense sunlight greeted them. She stood up from the river shore and rubbed her eyes. "Where am I?" she asked herself as she looked around. She then saw the others still laying on the ground. She ran to Tio and shook her a bit. "Hey, wake up!"

"Where are we?" Roan groaned as he stood up.

Melfice sat up from the ground. "I don't know but it must be pretty far from where we fell though."

Tio got up and dusted dirt off of her clothes. "I am unfamiliar with this territory."

"This is all your fault!" Millenia growled at Melfice.

"Hey, at least we're alive and I don't see that dragon anywhere," Melfice countered.

"I know this place," Lance told everyone and all heads turned to him.

"What?" Millenia frowned.

"I said, I know this place. Come on, I'll lead us out of here," the Ninja announced and began to walk.

"Where do you think he is taking us?" Tio whispered to Millenia.

"I don't know but I trust him," Millenia shrugged and followed the Ninja. "You three coming?"

"Yeah," Melfice said and ran to Lance and Millenia with Roan and Tio behind him.

Lance led the group out of the forest rather quickly. He knew every turn or move he made and where it took them. When they made it out of the forest, the group stood in front of a destroyed city.

"What is this place?" Millenia asked.

"I have heard of this city. It was called Minalin. The city was burned down by Selene and her Cathedral Knights because it was suspected of harbouring a piece of Valmar," Roan answered.

"That's right," Lance nodded. "Come on, let's keep going. We're almost there."

"Where are we going?" Tio inquired.

"To the Iga Ninja Fortress, we're spending the night there. It's just beyond the forest at the end of these ruins."

Melfice frowned. "To a Ninja Fortress? Isn't it forbidden to bring outsiders to your Ninja Clan?"

"Yes, but no one will greet you there. The Fortress is deserted as well," Lance chuckled and started to walk again.

***

The sun had almost set when the group reached the Iga Ninja Fortress. Lance walked up to the Fortress' big gates and gave them a mighty shove. The gates opened with a loud creak. Lance then entered the Fortress but noticed that the others just stood where they were. "What's wrong?"

"Are you really sure that this place is deserted?" Tio asked embarrassingly.

"We just don't want your Ninja pals attacking us when they see us," Melfice added.

"Trust me, NO ONE lives here anymore. Are you four coming inside or not? My clan may have disappeared but a lot of monsters do come out during the night," Lance threatened and entered the Fortress. "Why do I care if these guys get attacked by a monster or something?" he thought.

"Wow, this place IS deserted," Millenia commented as she entered the Fortress with the rest behind her. She looked around the place and noticed that there were plenty of cob webs on the ceiling and dirt stains on the walls.

Roan let out a relaxed sigh and sank on the ground. "Ugh, walking all the way up here sure took a lot out of me."

Melfice leaned against the wall. "No kidding. You guys have any food left?"

Roan took off his backpack and checked it. "Yes, I still have some drinks and a few rations." The Young King took out the food from his backpack and handed them out to everyone.

"I never knew old ration packs can taste so good when you're this hungry," Millenia chuckled.

"I could not agree more," Tio smiled.

"Tomorrow, we should be heading back to Cyrum. Do you have any ideas on how to get there?" Roan asked everyone.

Melfice shook his head and then eyed the Ninja. "I don't know this area. Lance?"

Lance swallowed his food and then spoke. "If we try to go back to where we came from, chances are, we'll meet our dragon friend again. Liligue is just south of here. We could go to Liligue and from there, we go north using the Skyway Station to get to Cyrum."

"Good plan," Millenia complimented.

A concerned look spread across Tio's face. "What about Ryudo and Elena? What if they are still trapped down there?"

Roan put his hand on Tio's shoulder. "Do not worry about them, I am sure they got out. Even if they were still trapped in there, I am sure Mister Skye made it to Cyrum by now and he will get help."

"I can't believe that bird just left us like that," Millenia growled to herself.

Lance stood up from the floor. "It doesn't matter, we didn't really need him. Go inside and help yourselves if you want some sleep, there's plenty of room." With that, the Ninja turned around and disappeared into the shadows.

"I am tired, I will go get some sleep," Tio said and left.

"Me too, I will come with you," Roan called out and went after the Automata.

"Are you going to sleep?" Melfice asked Millenia.

"No. Maybe later," she answered. She sat on the ground and looked up to the starry sky. "Melfice?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For saving me back in the park and also when the dragon was about to bite my head off. No one had ever done something like that for me..." she trailed off. "...except Ryudo," she continued in her mind. Ryudo was the only one that ever looked out for her but he was gone. He belonged to Elena now. She was finally over Ryudo but her heart and soul still screamed to be loved, no matter how hard she tried to fight the feeling. Although she would not admit it to herself anymore, she wanted to be happy with someone but where would she find the one? Even if the "one" stood right in front of her, she would avoid him like the plague. She was afraid to feel, afraid to love and then get hurt again. She would rather be alone with her pain rather than take a risk and get hurt again.

Melfice stared at Millenia for a long time. To him, it looked like she was in deep thought. "What are you think about?"

"Nothing. It's nothing. As I was saying, thanks for everything."

"Don't worry about it. I'm just doing what I can to help. I've let so many people down in the past. Now, that I've been given a second chance, I want to make up for it." Although it had been more than a year since he was possessed by the Horns of Valmar, memories of the crimes that Melfice committed and the faces of those he killed where still fresh and clear in his mind. His heart was still racked with guilt and contempt for himself. He hated himself for killing Reena and countless of innocent people.

Reena... how he missed her. When he "came back" and then remembered what he had done, it felt like a part of him died. It felt like his heart was swallowed by a giant black void of pain and loneliness. He really loved Reena but she was gone and nobody else could ever love a Demon Man like him. Even if somebody did, he would probably stay away from her, he was afraid that he would just hurt that person like what he did to Reena.

Melfice sat down next to Millenia and watched the stars with her. "Hey Millie, what do you plan on doing after we beat the Cathedral Knights?"

Millenia arched an eyebrow and then laughed. "Millie? Where did that come from?"

Melfice chuckled. "I don't know."

"Hmph. Well... I really don't know. I'll probably go back to my home in Liligue and go back to my job as a teacher. What about you?"

"I really don't know either. I can't live with Ryudo since he would probably want to stay with Elena."

"It's funny how aside from the battlefield, we feel like we don't belong anywhere."

"Well, let's hope it doesn't stay that way." Melfice gave Millenia a smirk, stood up, and left.

Millenia smiled to herself. She did not know why but she felt wonderful. The black void that consumed her heart had shrunk a bit. She enjoyed Melfice's company. Not only that, but she also enjoyed it when she picked on him or whenever he was around her. She did not feel so lonely or out of place. She... "NO WAY!" Millenia screamed in her mind. "Melfice? Me? It can't be..."

***

Roan could not sleep, he could hear Tio rolling around in her bed next door. He wondered what was wrong with her so he got up. He went out to the hallway and knocked on her door. "Tio?"

"Yes Roan?" Tio answered when she opened the door.

"Are you okay?" Roan asked.

"I cannot go to sleep."

"Is something bothering you? It is about what you saw in the Birthplace of the Gods, is it not?"

Tio nodded her head. "Yes. The things that Elmo showed were..." she trailed off and bit her lips as tears threatened to flood her eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

The Automata shook her head. "No thank you but maybe some other time. You should get some rest Roan."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, come on. I will be fine."

"Okay, good night Tio."

"Good night Roan," Tio smiled and closed her door.

***

Lance sat up against the wall on the railing in his balcony. He sighed an irritated sigh as his head swam with problems. He wondered what he should do with Nekura. He and Nekura came from the same Ninja Clan and they were pretty close. In fact, they were like brothers. He always thought that he was slaughtered by the Cathedral Knights along with the others but he was alive. He was now a Valmar incarnate. He wondered what his motives were and if he had to kill him should they meet again. He could destroy Nekura with the power of his black wings without hesitation even if they were like brothers. Ever since he was a child, he had been trained to control his emotions so he could become a proficient Ninja assassin. Killing Nekura now should be easier since his emotions were no longer suppressed, they were gone.

"Elena..." He also wondered how Elena was doing. He kept asking himself if she was all right with the Geohound. The Ninja was so buried in his thoughts that he did not notice Millenia enter his balcony.

"Hey," Millenia greeted but received no answer. The Ninja just simply stared off at the dark horizon. She walked up to him and waved her hand in front of his face. "Hello? Anyone there?"

Lance's head turned slowly to face Millenia. "What do you want?" he asked coldly.

Millenia smiled wickedly. "I just wanted to make sure if you're okay. You took a pretty big hit from that dragon."

"Do I look like I'm hurt?"

"No. I'm surprised that your trench coat is still in one piece." She ran a finger down his arm to feel the material of his coat. "What's this thing made out of?"

"Leather."

Millenia cocked an eyebrow. "Really? I think it's made out of something else." Millenia gave him another wicked smile and turned around. "Well, I'm sleepy now. I'm going to sleep. See you tomorrow morning Lance," she said and left.

Lance watched Millenia leave and then frowned. "Does she know.... does she know that my trench coat is my black wings in disguise? If she did, how? Would she tell the others? Dammit! I knew I should've taken that hit, I would've survived it anyways. Well it doesn't matter... they'll find out about me sooner or later." Lance got off the railing and knelt down on one knee. His black, leather trench coat materialized into a pair of black demon wings on his back. He stood up and spread his wings out. He then jumped off the balcony and flew into the night sky. "It's just a matter of time now Elena."