JUST LOVE

Chapter Twenty One

Lance ran his fingers through Rhea's raven black hair. "I found her Rhea. I found her like I always said I would." Lance sighed heavily and pulled up a chair to Rhea's bed. He sat down and watched her.

Konril finished eating its Poff Nut and ran up to Lance. It jumped onto his lap and whined.

The Ninja chuckled and smiled weakly at the Carro. "Yeah, I know. I wish she'd wake up too." Lance turned his head towards the door as he heard it creak a bit. A doctor entered the room. Lance nodded his head at the doctor. "Doctor Drew."

"Hello Mister Lance," Drew greeted and stood beside the Ninja.

"How is she doctor?"

Drew knew Lance called him just to ask him that. "No improvement. Her condition had no change at all since you left last time."

"Any idea when she'd wake up?"

"No. For now, we can only hope and pray."

The Ninja remained silent. "Hope? Pray? To whom? I never believed in Granas or Valmar and even if I did, they're both dead," he thought.

A nurse stuck her head through the door. "Mister Lance, you have a visitor," she informed.

Konril climbed up to Lance's shoulder. Lance stood up from his chair and faced the nurse. "A visitor? Who is it?"

"She said her name is Millenia. Should I let her come in?"

Lance pondered for a moment. "Sure, go get her."

"Okay." The nurse left to get Millenia.

"By the way Doctor, did you receive the money I sent you for keeping Rhea here in the hospital?" Lance asked.

"Yes, we did. Well, I'll leave you for now. If we pick up any improvements or even a slight change from her condition, we'll let you know," Drew said and exited the room.

A few moments later, Millenia came in and was a bit surprised to see where Lance had disappeared to. "So, this is where you went." She looked at the sleeping girl on the bed. "Who is she?" she asked curiously.

Lance gave Millenia a blank look and took his seat beside Rhea's bed to watch over her. "Her name is Rhea."

Millenia walked over to Lance and stood next to him. "Relative? Friend? Or someone special?"

"...someone special."

"What happened to her? How did she end up here?"

Lance did not answer. He and Konril just continued to watched Rhea.

Millenia arched an eyebrow and started to get impatient. "Well?"

"What are you doing here?" Lance asked coldly.

"Me and the others were curious why you just ran off like that so we all left my house to look for you."

"How did you find me?"

Millenia winked and smiled. "That's a secret."

Lance frowned at her and remained silent.

"Now it's your turn to answer my question. What happened to Rhea?"

Lance gave Millenia a quizzical look and wondered how she managed to find him but he figured she would not tell him. He decided to drop that subject for now and tell her Rhea's story. "Selene and her Cathedral Knights did this to her. Remember that destroyed city we passed by before spending the night at the Iga Ninja Fortress?"

Millenia nodded her head. "Yes."

"Selene attacked that city, Minalin, because she suspected it of harbouring a piece of Valmar. No one admitted that they were possessed so Selene just decided to burn the city down along with its people. Rhea was one of her many victims."

Millenia did not know what to say. It was sad and tragic to see a girl in a coma. But, it would be awkward to sympathize with Lance, the cold hearted Ninja who had no emotions in his eyes. She was surprised that someone such as he had a beautiful girl like her. Sure, Lance was handsome but he had the personality of a brick wall. Millenia just decided to say nothing.

Lance looked at Millenia and read her mind. He smiled a little. "Rhea was the daughter of Minalin's Chamberlain. My clan served the Chamberlain and I was Rhea's bodyguard for a little while."

"I see. Well, I better get going and tell the others you're okay," Millenia announced.

"Millenia?"

"What?"

"Don't tell anyone about her." The statement was more of a command than a request.

"Sure, I won't," Millenia agreed and left the Ninja alone.

---
Lance entered the Iga Ninja Fortress. He had been away from his clan for some time from a scouting mission and he was glad that he had finally returned. Lance looked around the fortress and frowned. The place was empty and quiet. There were no Ninja stationed at the look out towers, which was a very rare occurrence. There should be little children running around while chasing each other with wooden katanas. There should be Ninja around his age in the yard that should be training but there were none. The fortress was dead quiet.

"Master Hanzo!! Nekura!!" Lance yelled but received no answer. The turquoise haired man then heard a small noise and quickly unsheathed the Falchion. "Who's there?!" he demanded coldly.

An old woman stepped out from a bush. "Lance," she gasped.

"Mother!" Lance cried as he sheathed his katana. He ran up to Hibiki and hugged her. "Where is father and everyone else?"

Hibiki looked down on the ground, her eyes full of grief and worry. "Hanzo and Nekura went to Minalin. All of the men and a few young women left with them. The only ones that are here are women and their children."

Lance looked shocked. "What? Did some thing happen to the city?"

"The Chamberlain summoned your father and the whole force. Selene and the Cathedral Knights of the Granas Church attacked the city because it failed an examination of heresy. Hanzo and the others went there to defend it from them." She put her trembling hands on his shoulders and looked up to him. "Your father and brother had been gone for a long time. They should've been back by now. Lance, I fear for the worst."

Lance put his hands over hers. "Mother, I'll go to Minalin to see what happened."

"No, it's too dangerous. Your father told us to stay put no matter what."

"No, he told YOU to stay put. I just got here," he corrected with a smile. Lance took a step backwards. "Mother, I'm going down there to see what has become of the others... but... but if I don't come back, please leave the fortress with the others and go somewhere else. Selene and her Knights might find you here."

"Be careful out there Lance."

"I will," he assured her and left the fortress.

The forest seemed nothing but a blur of green as Lance made a mad dash through the forest. The Ninja jumped over a patch of ferns and continued to run. His dark blue Ninja suit mixed with the scenery and soon became one with the shadows. "Please be okay."

Destroyed... was the only word in Lance's head when he reached the once prosperous city of Minalin. All of the buildings were burned to the ground and were nothing but ashes and rubble. Men, women, and children lay on the streets and were covered with blood and gashes. Lance walked through the city of ruins in search of his clan. Before long, he found a Ninja half buried by debris. He ran towards the Ninja and knelt beside him. "Sogetsu!!" He grabbed the huge piece of metal that pinned Sogetsu's legs with both hands and tossed it aside. "Sogetsu!! Wake up!!"

Sogetsu slowly opened his eyes and frowned. "Lance?"

"I'm back from my mission! Hang in there!"

Sogetsu shook his head and coughed up some blood. "No... you must... leave... Selene might find you..."

Lance closed his eyes, concentrated, and put a hand on Sogetsu's forehead. "Spirits of life, shed your holy light," he whispered as he casted an Alhealer but it had no effect on the fallen Ninja.

"Forget... about me... leave..."

"I can't just leave you and the others here."

"Everyone is... dead... the Cathedral Knights were... too strong for us..."

"NO!" Lance stood up and shook his head defiantly.

"Good bye Lance..." Sogetsu smiled for the last time as death claimed his life.

Lance sank on the ground on his knees as he fought back the tears that threatened to flood his ruby red eyes. "Everyone is gone; Father, Nekura, the Clan, and Rhea... Rhea!" Lance stood up quickly and bolted towards Rhea's house. He was so caught up with trying to find his Clan that he had forgotten about her. Rhea was probably dead along with everyone else but he had to see it with his own eyes.

Before long, Lance reached Rhea's mansion. Like everything in the city, the mansion was also burned down to the ground. Lance looked at the huge pile of burnt wood in front of him. He wondered how he was suppose to find Rhea. It would take an entire search party to sift through the rubble and remove any people that were buried underneath it. Everything seemed hopeless.

The Ninja stared at the pile of debris in front of him. He then felt some thing tug at his foot and looked down. He saw a Carro with a frantic look on its face. "Konril? Where's Rhea?"

The Carro whined and ran away. Lance decided to follow it. Konril led Lance to the courtyard and there he found Rhea. Rhea lay next to a broken mermaid statue. Her arms and legs were full of wounds and gashes. There was a cut on the back of her head that bled slowly and blood stained her long raven, black hair. The Ninja raced to her side, knelt down, and put a hand on her cheek.

"Rhea?" Lance whispered as softly as he could muster.

Konril walked up to Rhea and nuzzled its head against her other cheek.

"Come on, you have to open your eyes. You can't leave me like everyone else did. Please..." He picked her up from the dirty ground and cradled her fragile body in his arms. "...don't go." Konril jumped onto Rhea's stomach and looked at Lance and then Rhea. "See, even your Carro doesn't want you to go either."

Rhea slowly opened her eyes and looked up to Lance's ruby red. "Lance?" Her voice was barely above whisper.

He smiled underneath his mask from relief. "Yes, I'm here."

"Lance, the Cathedral Knights... they..."

"Ssshhh, I know."

Rhea tried to reach for Lance's cheek with her hand to pull his mask down. She wanted to see his face, his smile one more time but she was too weak to do so. The Ninja pulled down his mask for her and held her hand against his cheek. "I'm glad you're here... I'm glad I could see you one more time..."

Lance felt sharp thorns prick his heart. "Don't say that... everything will be better. I won't let you leave me."

"Lance, please promise me that you won't forget me."

"I won't. How could I? I owe you my heart and soul."

"Good. I'm happy... Lance I..." She smiled and closed her eyes as she felt the world fade away from eyes and her mind.

"Rhea?" Lance checked her pulse. She was still alive but barely. "Rhea... no...." The Ninja looked up to the sky and screamed until his lungs could take no more. He buried his face in her chest and sobbed uncontrollably as torrents of tears flooded his ruby red eyes. His actions would have been labelled as weak and unfit for a Ninja but he did not care. Everything was just too much to bare.

Lance felt something snapped inside him, something burn, and something scream. He felt a powerful surge of energy flow through his veins. He opened his eyes and found that he was bathe in a dark red aura. "What's happening to me?" He then gasped as he felt something trying to crawl out of his back. A pair of black demon wings sprouted from his back. "What am I?" Lance slid his arms under Rhea's body and picked her up gently. He stood up from the ground and looked up to the sky. "It doesn't matter what I am... I have to save Rhea." Lance let Konril latch onto his shoulder and with a mighty flap, he took to the sky.

Lance soared through the sky in search of help. He passed by Minalin and the Iga Ninja Fortress but found no one. Ahead of the Fortress, the Ninja found a group of women and children that lay in a puddle of blood. "Mother! No... Selene probably found them when they left the Fortress. Selene!! You bitch!! I swear I'm going to hunt you and your Cathedral Knights down and kill you all!!" he cried in his mind.

After a few minutes, Lance reached Liligue and found what he needed. He landed in an alley so no one would see his demonic wings. "What am I suppose to do with these wings?" His question was answered when the wings materialized into a black, leather trench coat. "Okay... that's good." The Ninja hurried out of the alley and went to the hospital. When he got there, he busted through the doors and yelled for help. "I need a doctor! My friend here is dying!!" Any doctors and nurses that were around him immediately ran to him to help.
---

Konril jumped off from Lance's shoulder and landed on Rhea's bed. The Ninja stood up and brushed Rhea's bangs out of her eyes. "I have to get going now."

Konril whined.

"You watched over Rhea now. I need to go. I need to get even with the Cathedral Knights. They must pay for what they've done to us." He kissed Rhea on the lips and then pulled up his mask to cover the bottom half of his face. "I'll be back soon." With that, he left the room.

***

Nekura sat on top of a giant stone gargoyle high above on a building. His wounds had finally healed and it was time to prowl again. He laughed at the scene below him.

"Please sir, please lend me a loaf of bread. I promise I'll pay you back, I swear it. I really need it. My children had not eaten for days so please..." a lady begged.

The merchant in front of her scoffed. "Look lady, I'll only give you bread if you show me some money."

"I'm sorry sir but I don't have any. My husband used to used support our family but he got killed last year when one of Valmar's monsters attacked him."

"I don't care what your excuses are. The thing is, no money equals no bread. Now, get lost you bum!"

The lady reluctantly left with her head down. Her poor children would go to bed without any food again.

Nekura laughed sadistically. "These humans are just pitiful. Look at them, instead of helping each other, they care about nothing except green pieces of paper or gold coins. These creatures don't deserve to live. They are a plague to their own world. They must be exterminated... once I deal with the Geohound and his friends. With them out of the way, I can do as I please. But where could they be? They're not here in Liligue... I should look some where else." Nekura stood up and blasted to the sky. "This time, you won't win."

***

Gatta walked down an empty hall and then turned to an adjacent corridor. In front of him was a huge holding cell with the citizens of St. Heim in it. He smiled sinisterly as he watched them cower in fear. He then turned his attention to a mother who tried to calm her crying daughter.

"Don't worry dear, everything will be okay. We'll get out of here some how," the mother said gently.

"I don't like this place mommy..." the little girl sobbed.

One of the prisoners glared at Gatta. "You monster!! Why are you doing this to us? What have we ever done to you to deserve this treatment?!"

Gatta laughed. "We're doing this because we're going to restore peace back to this world."

"By locking us up in here?!"

Gatta put a hand under his chin. "Tell me, why were your lives so prosperous...?"

The prisoners frowned at his question. "What?!"

Gatta narrowed his eyes at the people in front of him. "Was it not because of Granas? Granas gave you lands, this city, you owed him everything. And what did you people do to him in return? You deserted him when you found out he's dead."

"We had to move on with our lives. You can't expect us to worship a dead god. Besides, even without Granas, we recovered from our losses and continued to live after Valmar attacked us. We don't need these Gods anymore."

"Just because your lives are all better doesn't mean you can ignore the rest of the world. There is still much suffering in the world. There are people out there who have not recovered from their misfortune. We plan on solving this problem by giving Granas back to the people. With Granas back, we can purge Darkness and end all suffering."

"Bring Granas back? What for? People would lose their passion to live their lives if Granas would give them everything they wanted. Isn't it more rewarding when you achieve something on your own, not because some God gave it to you?" one of the prisoners asked.

"Watch your tongue!" Gatta snarled.

"If you're going to bring Granas back to life, why do you keep us here? What of use do we have to you?" another prisoner inquired.

"We need you people here as hostages. You see, there are people that are against our operations. You people will keep them away from us."

"Who wouldn't go up against you? I heard you attacked Garlan and Cyrum!" a man said.

"Oh that... we had our reasons," Gatta replied.

"You killed innocent people! That's not something Granas would want!"

"True... but sacrifices are necessary for revolution," he countered and turned around to leave. "Oh well, I'm getting out of here. I'll tell the Cardinal that those people are alive and well. Ha! Ryudo, the rest is up to you and everything should go according to plan," Gatta thought.