JUST LOVE

Chapter Twenty Four

Ryudo looked at Lance as if he had grown a pair of horns. "What? What did you say?"

Lance pulled his mask down and narrowed his eyes at the Geohound. "You heard what I said."

Skye looked at Lance closely and then Elena. "Hmmm..."

Roan and Tio entered the room and frowned as soon as their eyes fell on Ryudo. "What is going on here?" Roan asked.

"Oh nothing much, except our friend Lance here thinks he's Elena's brother," Ryudo answered.

"Now that you mentioned it, the two of them do share some similar features," Roan said.

"That still doesn't prove anything! A lot of people who aren't even related to each other look alike," Ryudo denied.

"Look at their eyes Ryudo. Elena's, Lance's, and even Millenia's eyes all have the same colour and share the same shine. Not a lot of people have eyes like those," Skye told the Geohound.

Roan, Tio, and Melfice looked at Lance, then Millenia, and finally Elena. "I don't believe it. How come we never noticed this before?" Melfice commented.

"It could be Lance's mask," Tio replied.

"That's still not enough! You'll need more than looks and eyes to prove you're Elena's brother," Ryudo grimaced. "Do you have any solid proof?"

". . . . . ." Lance remained silent. Ryudo had him there.

"If Elena ever had a long, lost brother, she would've told me," the Geohound remarked.

"What if she didn't want to tell you?" Lance countered.

A memory shot through Ryudo's head.

"Have you ever been alone Elena? Hmm... come to think of it, you haven't told me anything about your past or your family."

"I... I really do not remember much about my past..."

"Lance may not be able to prove that he's Elena's brother but I can," Millenia said.

Ryudo was stunned. "Yo... you believe him too?"

"Yes... the proof is right there." Millenia pointed at Elena.

"I don't get it." Ryudo frowned.

"I'll probe Elena's mind and show you her memories and some of Lance's. If the two of them share the same memories, it'll prove that they're siblings." The red head walked over to Elena's right side. She motioned for the others to come forward. "Come on, I'll show you."

"Hey! Wait!" Ryudo exclaimed.

"What's wrong? Afraid of the truth?" Lance grinned evilly at the Geohound.

"Hell no!" Ryudo hissed. "Get these damn shurikens off of me!"

"Oh." Lance picked the shurikens off the wall and freed the Geohound.

"Lance, stand over to the left side and put your hand on Elena's forehead. For the rest of you, hold each other's hands," Millenia instructed. Everyone did as they were told.

Lance put his hand on Elena's forehead and so did Millenia, on top of his. Melfice held Millenia's other hand while his other hand held Ryudo's. Ryudo then took Roan's hand and Roan reached for Tio's. Tio hesitantly held Lance's free hand and the group formed a circle around Elena's bed.

"Close your eyes," Millenia ordered. "Lance, I'll have to probe your mind too."

"If it proves what I'm saying, so be it. But if you dive any deeper in my head, I'm stopping you," Lance warned.

"Okay, here we go. Whatever happens, don't open your eyes or interrupt me until I say so or we could seriously mess up Elena's head," Millenia announced and a bright red flash lit the room.

---
"Do you really have to go to work today Papa? It's Saturday," a five year old Elena asked as she ate her bowl of cereals.

A six year old Lance poured more cereals onto his bowl. "Who's going to baby sit us today? It's not Mrs. Kaflutzky, is it? I don't like her, her perfume stinks."

Lance's and Elena's father chuckled. "Now Lance, be nice. Your baby sitter today is Joyce. She lives down the street and should be here any minute. Please be in your best behaviour."

"What?! Not her!! She's the class bully's big sister!" Lance exclaimed.

"Oh, Lance it'll be okay," their father assured.

"I think she's nice," Elena said.

"What do you know? You don't even know her!" Lance snarled.

"I know her!!" Elena insisted.

"No you don't!"

"Yes I do!"

"NO YOU DON'T!"

"YES I DO!"

"Don't! Don't! DON'T!!"

"Do! Do! DO!!"

"Now stop that or I won't get you two anything when I get back home," their father scolded and left the kitchen when he heard a knock on the door. "You two stay right there and no fighting."

"Way to go Elena," Lance hissed.

"You started it," Elena countered.

Before Lance could retaliate and take the argument one step further, their father entered the kitchen with the baby sitter. "Joyce is finally here so I'll be leaving now you two." Their father went to the counter and picked up his briefcase. "Don't I get good bye kisses?" he asked mischievously and knelt down on one knee.

Lance and Elena got off their chairs and ran to their father. Both gave him a hug and then kissed him on the cheek. "Good bye Papa," Elena said.

"Be careful," Lance added.

"I will. Good bye and I'll see you two later." He gave Elena and Lance a hug and a kiss on the cheek each in return and stood up. "Don't give Joyce any trouble, okay?" He waved farewell and left the kitchen through the back door.

"Don't worry about a thing Mister Evann. Your kids are in safe and good hands," Joyce assured.

"Yeah right..." Lance thought bitterly.

"What are we doing for the day, Joyce?" Elena asked curiously as soon as Evann was out of the house.

"I don't know... what do you kids want to do today?" Joyce inquired.

"Can we go to the park? Please? Pretty please?" Elena requested.

The baby sitter turned to Lance, who had gone back to his seat and continued to eat his cereals. "How does that sound to you Lance?"

"It's fine with me," the turquoise haired kid answered shortly and unenthusiastically.

"Okay then, park it is and then how about some ice cream after?" Joyce grinned.

Lance's head perked up and his ruby red eyes suddenly shone with interest. "Really?"

"Yeah, it's on me. You kids prepare your stuff while I do the dishes," Joyce suggested.

"Yay! We're going to the park! I'm going to get my pail and shovel and... and build a sand castle!!!" Elena cried happily and ran out of the kitchen.

Lance was also about to leave the kitchen but stopped as a thought crossed his mind and turned around. "Say, where's your brother... Dallas?"

Joyce rinsed the bowls in the sink and then cleaned them with a soapy sponge. "He's grounded for the weekend. That little brother of mine is a trouble maker. Why do you ask?"

Lance shrugged and cheered for the wonderful news inwardly. "No... nothing. I'll go get my toys now." The six year old whirled around and left the kitchen.

When Joyce finished washing and drying the breakfast dishes, she went into the living room and found Lance and Elena, who waited impatiently on the couch for her with their things. Elena had her pail and shovel while Lance had his various action figures. "You guys ready to have some fun?"

Elena leapt off the couch merrily. "You bet!"

"Let's go then." Joyce ushered the two out of the living room and locked the door to the house. She then took Lance's and Elena's hands. "You guys better stay close to me until we get to the park. The last thing I want is you guys running off the streets." The three walked down the street and reached the small town's one and only park in no time.

The park was small but impressive, at least to the kids. It had a sand box on one corner and a small pond for the ducks at the opposite corner. There was a wooden play structure in the center and monkey bars, slides, and swings around the play structure. There were also a few tall trees in the park that provided shade from the sun's unforgiving heat.

"Yay! We're finally here!" Elena rejoiced and ran towards the sand box. "I'm going to make a castle!"

Lance took his hand away from Joyce's and went to the play structure. "I'm going to go play now." He joined a group of boys around his age who had action figures with them.

Joyce smiled as she watched Lance and Elena enjoyed themselves. This was the second best part of her job; make and watch the kids happy. She really loved her job as a baby sitter. She really loved kids. Some day, she would open up a day care and spend the rest of her life taking care of children. Joyce gave the two a final glance. "It looks like they're going to be okay." She then took out a small book from her back pocket and sat down on a bench to read.

"This is going to be the best sand castle ever!" Elena told herself excitedly. Using her small, plastic shovel, she filled her pail with sand and dumped its contents beside a small mound of sand.

"What are you making?" a voice asked mischievously.

Elena looked up and saw a boy with an evil grin on his face. "A sand castle."

"Sand castle?! Ha!" the kid snorted. "I only see piles of sand, it looks like you're making the Saint Heim Mountains!"

"You're mean!" Elena said.

"If you think that's mean, what do you think of this?!" The kid brought his feet up and stomped on Elena's soon to be sand castle.

Elena watched her work get demolished. She could do nothing but sit and whimper as tears started to well up in her ruby red eyes. "My castle..."

"What do you think of that?" When the kid finished crushing Elena's work, the kid spat on it and laughed maniacally.

Elena did not know what to do except for one thing; cry her lungs out. "WAAAAAHHHHH!!! You RUINED my sand castle!"

Lance's head perked up from the ground as he heard a familiar cry. He looked around the park and saw Elena in tears with a kid taunting her. With a low growl, he dropped his actions figures on the ground and immediately ran towards his little sister. When the six year old got to the sand box, he pushed down the intruder and shook a fist at him. "What do you think you're doing to my little sister?!"

Elena pointed an accusing finger at the kid. "He ruined my sand castle!"

The kid did not answer. "I... uh..." He just stood up with trembling feet and ran out of the park.

Lance turned around and knelt down next to Elena. "You okay?"

Elena wiped away her tears with a sniff. "Uh huh but not my sand castle."

"I'm sorry about your castle. Where's Joyce? Why didn't she stop this?" Elena did not reply. Lance's head then started to whirl around in search of their baby sitter. He found her on the same bench where she had been waiting with her book except her book was gone. She was with a guy, a in make out session. "Ugh..." Lance groaned with disgust.

"Lance, how come we don't have a mommy like these other kids?" Elena questioned out of the cold blue.

"Huh?" Lance frowned and followed his sister's line of sight. He saw a kid playing catch with both of his parents. "Well..."

"Where is our mom? Where did she go?"

Lance put a hand on Elena's shoulder. "Our Mom is gone. Papa said she left when the two of us were very little. He said she went to a place that's very, very far and she's not coming back. Papa told me that she's going to spend the rest of her life sleeping."

"Why would she do some thing like that?"

"I don't know. Grown ups do some pretty weird things some times."

"But it's not fair! We should have a Mom. If we did, we wouldn't be stuck here with Joyce."

"I know."

"Hey you two. Did you guys have fun?" Joyce asked, who came up from behind them.

"Can we just get some ice cream now and then go home? I want to go see my Papa," Elena suggested.

"Um, yeah, sure..." Joyce felt a small drop of water fall down on her face. She looked up to the sky and noticed it was now very cloudy. "It looks like it's going to rain... a storm... so I guess that's a good idea. Come on guys, go get your stuff and then we're leaving."

Lance and Elena nodded their heads in unison and left to get their belongings. When that ordeal was done, the three left the park and crossed the street. They entered an ice cream parlour and bought their favourite ice cream flavours, in cones. Lance picked 'Cookies and Cream', Elena got 'Rocky Road', and Joyce bought some low fat flavour. As the three walked back home with their ice creams, Joyce noticed that Lance and Elena had been quiet and looked a bit depressed. She asked what bothered them but the two decided not to tell her anything. When they got back home, Lance and Elena spent the rest of the day just waiting for Evann to return from work while Joyce took advantage of the TV.

Finally, right at 5:00 PM, Evann got back home from work and was greeted by his children with much enthusiasm and eagerness. Evann then paid Joyce and sent her home so he could start supper.

"Papa, can we have a Mom?" Elena asked innocently and out of the cold blue in the middle of supper.

Evann choked a bit on his food and gulped down a glass of water. "Well... uh... um, I don't know honey. Why do you ask?"

"It's not fair, everyone has a Mom. But not us," Lance complained.

"Not everyone has a Mom. Other kids are just like you, they only have a father and some kids only have a mother," Evann countered. "Why are you asking this? Did some thing happen today?"

"Nothing... it's just that you're gone most of the time..." Elena answered and trailed off.

"...and we don't like our baby sitters," Lance continued.

Evann tapped his fingers on his lap lightly and beckoned for his children to come forward with his hand. "Come here you two." Lance and Elena got off their seats and sat on their father's lap. Evann wrapped his arms around his children and spoke as softly as he could muster. "Look, I'm sorry I can't be here all the time but Papa has to work so we can live here and have some thing to eat, clothes to wear, and money to spend when I'm not working. I'm also sorry your mother is not here. She left us after you were born Elena but she loved you two very, very much."

"Then why did she leave us?" Elena whined.

"That's some thing you'll understand when you grow up."

"So can we have a Mom anyway?" Lance asked, his eyes filled with hope.

"I'll think about it," Evann chuckled. "Go to sleep you two. Tomorrow is Sunday. We have to wake up early for church and pray to Lord Granas."

"Good night Papa," the two said and kissed their father on the cheek.

"Good night," Evann replied.

Lance and Elena got off their father's lap and ran out of the kitchen.

"EEEEEKKKKK!!!" Elena shrieked as the dark sky outside roared when she entered her room. She then made a mad dash out of her room and into Lance's.

"What are you doing here?" Lance asked with an arched eyebrow.

Before Elena could answer, the dark sky was lit up by a lightning bolt and was soon followed by a loud thunder. "WAAAAHHHH!!!" she screamed and jumped on her brother's bed.

"Go back to your room, it's only lightning and thunder," Lance scolded with his arms crossed.

"I'm scared... thunder storms are scary..." Elena whined.

Lance got off the bed and went over to the window. He opened it a bit and pointed a finger to the sky. "It's only flashes and noises from the sky... it won't eat you like the Boogie Man."

Elena jumped off the bed and stood next to Lance. "Why does the sky do this?"

"Well... grown ups say thunder storms come when Granas is angry," Lance answered. "Those noises in the sky is Granas yelling at bad people."

"Like the kid who destroyed my sand castle?"

Lance nodded his head. "Yup, and many more. There's a lot of bad people out there."

"I wish people would be more nicer so we don't get thunder storms anymore."

"Too bad there's nothing you can do about it."

"There is too! Some day... I... I... will work for the church and help all kinds of people. Yeah, I'll do that. I'll stop people from being mean and make them nicer. I'll teach people to be kind to others and make them see Granas' ways. That way, we won't get thunder storms anymore."

"Good luck," Lance scoffed and shut the window.

Another mighty lightning bolt flashed through the sky. Elena ducked and covered her ears, she knew what was next. The five year old trembled as the sky rumbled with fury. "I hate thunder!!"

"GAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Elena heard a voice scream from downstairs. "What was that?"

"Papa!" Lance exclaimed and ran out of the room with Elena not far behind. The two went down to the living room and found Evann half buried under burning debris. Lance looked up and saw the ceiling was on fire as well. The turquoise haired kid reached for his father's arm and tried to pull him out of the rubble desperately. "I'll get you out of there Papa!"

Evann tried to get himself out of the burning debris but to no avail. "I can barely move. This stuff is too heavy."

Elena looked out to the window in the room and saw that some houses were burning too. There were also people running and screaming for help. More of the ceiling started to collapse and more debris started to fall on the floor. A few wires in a corner suddenly emitted sparks and then half of the room burst into flames. Elena sank on the floor on her knees and started to sob. "Papa, what are we going to do?"

"Papa you have to get out of there!" Lance whimpered as tears started to form in his eyes.

The whole family felt the temperature rise drastically in the room. "I can't! Lance, Elena, you have to ge... get out of here!" Evann grunted in pain.

Lance shook his head defiantly as tears rolled down his cheeks. "No, Papa, no! We won't leave you!"

"Papa! PAPA!!" Elena wailed with tears in her eyes as well.

"Listen, you two have to get out of here! It's dangerous!" Evann coughed as smoke started to fill the room. Lance and Elena did not move a muscle. "GO!!!" he shouted.

Reluctantly, Lance and Elena stood up and headed towards the door. They opened the door and allowed some of the smoke to leave the room. They turned around and looked at their father once more. "Papa..."

"Don't worry about me..." Evann smiled but was cut short as more rubble fell off the ceiling and finally buried him.

"PAPPPPAAAAAA" Elena screamed.

Lance tugged at his sister's hand. "Elena, come on, we have to go."

"No, Papa, he..." she whimpered.

"Let's go!" Lance dragged his sister out of the house.

"The whole town is burning!" Elena gasped.

Lance felt helpless. They were surrounded with flames and many people ran around in different directions who looked just as scared as they are. Lance took a deep breath and held Elena's hand tightly. "Don't let go of my hand no matter what and try to keep up," he told her.

"Okay," Elena said in a small voice.

"Here we go," he announced.

With Elena right behind him, Lance left the porch and ran down the street. The two ran as fast as they could and avoided the panic stricken crowd as best as they could so they would not get trampled to death. When about half an hour had passed, the two finally made it out of the town and into the forests. The lightning and thunder had subsided a bit but were now replaced by violent winds and heavy rain.

"I'm cold," Elena complained while her teeth clattered. "And where are we going?"

Lance stopped for a moment and wiped some rain droplets from his eyes. "I don't know..." he sighed.

"Oh..." Elena sniffed loudly.

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you. And we'll find someone who can help us," he assured.

Elena said nothing and kept following Lance as he moved on. The two then kept walking in search of help and shelter under the unforgiving winds and torrents of rains.

"Lance, I can't see!!" Elena cried out as they crossed a bridge. The harsh wind made it hard for the two to see anything.

"Don't worry, just keep holding onto my hand!" Lance yelled back.

With the combination of rain and wind, Elena's hand slipped out of Lance's. The wind howled and a powerful gust of wind knocked Elena off the bridge. "Lance!!" she screamed as she fell down.

"Elena? Where are you?" Lance called out. His question was answered when he heard a splash and Elena's frantic screams. "ELENA!!"

Elena thrashed around in the water with her arms and legs to keep her head out of the water. "Help me!" she cried and coughed as water forced itself into her mouth.

The six year old ran to the other side of the bridge and went after his sister. "There's a boulder ahead, hang on to it!" he shouted as he ran along the shore.

The little girl latched onto the boulder while she shivered from the cold water.

Lance looked around frantically for anything that could pull Elena out of the river. "Help! Somebody! Help us!" His calls were only muffled by the wind's howl.

The river's current picked up and its flow started to get violent just like the weather. "Lance, hurry! I'm slipping!!"

"Hold on! I'm coming!" The little boy found a long stick under a tree and returned to the shore. He knelt down a bit and stretched out his arm with the stick in hand. "Grab the stick! I'll pull you out!"

Elena reached for the stick and held onto it tightly. "I got it!"

"Hold on!" Lance started to pull with all of his strength but to no avail. Elena was too heavy for him and the river refused to let his sister go.

The river's current increased and a wave splashed on Elena's face. "I'm slipping again!"

"Don't let go!" Lance grunted as he struggled to save his sister.

Elena's fingers slipped from the stick one by one and was carried away by the river's waves. "LANCE!! LAAAANNNNCCEEE!!!"

Lance fell on his back as he pulled the stick out of the water with all of his might but there was no Elena. "Elena? ELLLLEEENNNAAA!!!" The turquoise haired kid stood up and slumped on his knees. "No... she's gone too..." he whispered and started to cry under the raging storm. The winds blew harder and the rain showered the Earth mercilessly as if the storm mocked the boy.

"Who is she Daddy? Is she dead?" a voice asked innocently.

"No, she is alive but barely," another voice answered.

A loud ring, that was the only thing Elena could hear in her head and two faint voices. With a pained groan, her eyes opened slowly and looked up to the two figures that towered over her. There was a man, who seemed like a priest, with navy blue hair and a little girl behind him with red hair. "Where am I?" she asked.

Father Carius knelt down next to Elena and helped her sit up. "You are in Carbo little one. You are awfully wet. Tell me, what happened to you? Who are your parents?"

Elena buried her face in her hands as she remembered what happened to Evann and how she was separated from Lance. Lance... she wondered if he was still alive. "I do not know... I am alone... all alone..." she replied, her voice almost inaudible and started to cry.

"Don't cry, everything will be okay," little Tessa said.

Elena looked up to the girl and wiped away her tears. "Who are you?"

"My name is Tessa," the red head smiled. "How about you?"

"Elena."

"I am Father Carius." Carius stood up. "Come with us Elena. You must be very tired, cold, and hungry."

"And then we can play later if you like," Tessa offered.

"Umm... okay," Elena accepted shyly and looked away.

"Don't worry, we won't let anything happen to you," Tessa assured.

"You can trust us Elena," Carius smiled. "Come on, let us go back to the church."

Meanwhile, Lance ran through the forest as fast as he could while he called out for help. After Elena was swept away down the river, he followed her downstream but there were no signs of her. The storm had cleared but the trouble was replaced when a Dragon Knight appeared out of nowhere and wanted Lance for dinner. "Help!! Someone help me!!" he shouted.

"Foolissssh Human, get back here!" the Dragon Knight hissed angrily.

"I can't keep this up much longer," Lance panted. The little boy looked back and saw the enemy gaining on him. "He's coming... ahhhh!" he cried as he tripped on a tree's root and fell down on his stomach.

"I got you now Human." The Dragon Knight smacked its lips as it stepped forward.

"Go away!" Lance crawled towards a boulder and cowered.

Before the Dragon Knight could move another muscle, a shuriken from behind hit the back of its head. The lizard man let out a pained gasp and fell on the ground, dead.

Lance frowned and stood up. "What the?"

"Are you all right?" A deep voice asked.

Lance took a step backwards. "Who... who are you?"

A tall man clad in a black Ninja suit emerged out of the bushes with a little boy right behind him. The little boy wore a purple Ninja gi and had black hair. "Did that thing injure you?" the man questioned.

"I... I am okay," Lance answered silently.

The tall man crossed his arms over his chest and eyed Lance critically. "What are you doing out here alone? It's dangerous here with all sorts of monsters running around."

Lance sank on his knees and stared at the ground. "I... my dad got hurt really bad... my town was burnt down when lightning struck the houses in a thunder storm... and my sister got swept away by the river... I don't know what happened to everyone now. I just don't know what to do. Everyone has left me..." he explained with choked sobs every now and then.

The tall man put a hand under his chin. "I see. With nowhere to go, it's best that you come with us. You won't survive out here on your own."

The turquoise haired kid looked up to the Ninja in black with a doubtful look on his face. "What?!"

"Don't worry, you can trust us. We'll keep you safe. My name is Hanzo," the tall man said.

"I'm his son, Nekura," the little boy chirped happily.

"My name is Lance." Lance got up from the ground and took Hanzo's hand as it was offered to him.
---

"You can open your eyes now," Millenia told everyone as she was done probing Elena's and Lance's minds.

Ryudo took a step backwards and sighed heavily. "I... I don't believe it... he... Lance... really is Elena's brother."

"I wasn't really expecting that," Melfice commented.

"I wonder why Elena never told us she had a brother," Tio said.

"Miss Elena's past is an unpleasant one. People usually keep these things to themselves," Roan replied. "Or try to forget it."

"Now that you all know the truth, I want you to get out now. I want to be alone with my sister," Lance growled. "Oh, and if any of you want to die, just tell Elena that I'm his brother."

"What?" Ryudo grimaced. "I'm NOT leaving Elena. I don't care who you are but I'm not letting her out of my sight again."

"You've lost your right to be with Elena. It's your fault she ended up like this," the Ninja snarled.

Ryudo quickly unsheathed the Granasaber Sword and took a step forward. "I'm staying here with Elena no matter what. If it means shoving this sword down your throat, so be it."

Lance crossed his arms over his chest and chuckled. "I'd like to see you try. Besides, what would Elena think? She won't be too happy if you kill her one and only brother."

Melfice narrowed his eyes at Lance and turned to Ryudo. "Let's just do what he says Ryudo, for now."

"But... but... he..." Ryudo stuttered.

"It is probably for the best," Roan agreed and exited the room with Tio.

"Fine... but I'll be back." Ryudo put the Granasaber Sword away and stormed out of the room with Skye and Melfice following from behind.

Lance noticed that Millenia was still in the room. "What about you?"

"I'll leave but I need to talk to you first," Millenia said.

"Start talking," Lance scoffed.

***

"I can't believe it!! I just CAN'T believe it!! How can that guy be Elena's brother?!" Ryudo asked everyone, obviously frustrated.

"Well, they kind of look alike and they share some memories. I think that is enough proof to convince a person," Roan replied.

"I already accepted the fact that Lance and Elena are siblings. But I don't see how they can be. Lance is nothing like Elena or even Millenia," Ryudo countered. "Elena is so full of life. She's nice and kind. Millenia is also nice... in her own Millenia way. But Lance is so... so dead. He's cold and doesn't give a damn to anyone."

"Well, Ryudo, in case you already forgot what Millenia showed us, Lance had been through a lot and probably more after Hanzo and Nekura took him in. The world, and even life itself can be harsh and when it does, it changes a person, often to a 'cold, unfeeling brute.' You of all people should know that," Skye explained.

Tio sat down on a bench and stared at the wall blankly. "Knowing that Lance is Elena's brother would take some time getting use to. But I wonder why he would hide the truth from her."

"I don't know..." Melfice shrugged and looked at Ryudo with a slight trace of amusement in his emerald green eyes. "...but out of all of us, Ryudo should be worried the most. As far as big brothers go, Lance seems like the protective kind."