Chapter 76
"YOU'RE GOING TO WILLINGLY WALTZ RIGHT BACK INTO THAT HELL-HOLE?" Sarah yelled.
"Yes," Melissa murmured as she closed her eyes.
The Warrior of Summer chuckled, "I knew you'd come to see it my way."
"Melissa! No!" Kento yelled, trying to get out of Dais' web-like prison.
"Silence, Hardrock!" Dais snapped as he turned to face the Warrior of Justice. "You and your friends have interfered with me, my partner, and my master's plans for far too long."
"Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah," Melody replied as she rolled her eyes. "We've heard all this bullshit before."
"Melody," Jazalyn replied as she smacked her forehead, "Shut up. When we go back to America, assuming we're going to get out of this alive, I am not going to explain to your family how you ended up in a body bag."
'Dear God,' Melissa thought, completely ignoring the conversation, 'please give me the strength to do this without letting someone get killed.'
Dais shifted his attention from Kento to Melody and Jazalyn, "the voice of reason and the annoying little girl. Perhaps I'll…" it was right then and there when he noticed that Melissa was starting turn chalk white. "Is something wrong my little light?"
'What am I doing?' Melissa thought as she cringed. 'If I betray him, then…no, don't think about that…don't think about what's going to happen to your family when he finds out you've betrayed him.'
"Melissa?" Dais asked again.
"Mel?" Sarah asked in a concerned tone-of-voice, "Are you okay? You're turning chalk white!"
"I give you five seconds to give me an answer Dais," Melissa snapped, startling everyone.
"What the…" the Illusion Warlord began.
"Five…Four…" Melissa began the countdown.
"WHAT'S GOING ON?" Melody yelled.
"Three…Two…"
"Melissa! What are you…?" Brian asked.
"One…Zero."
When Melissa reached zero, the young woman whipped out the Ancient One's staff that, a few minutes earlier, had been hidden behind her back. Without warning, the staff let lose all of its power. As the staff continued to pour out its power, scaring away the Nether Spirits and freeing the Ronin Warriors, all Melissa wanted to do was to physically and emotionally shut down. 'Please let me go numb,' Melissa thought, 'I've seen too much, I know too much, and I've betrayed the only person who can protect me and put my loved ones danger. Please dear God, just let me go numb.'
But Melissa didn't go numb; instead, she felt sick to her stomach. The nausea became so bad that eventually, she dropped the staff and fainted. The whole time she unconscious, she never saw or heard the end results of her trick to free the Ronins. She didn't even remember Sarah and Brian moving her off the castle grounds.
"YOU'RE GOING TO WILLINGLY WALTZ RIGHT BACK INTO THAT HELL-HOLE?" Sarah yelled.
"Yes," Melissa murmured as she closed her eyes.
The Warrior of Summer chuckled, "I knew you'd come to see it my way."
"Melissa! No!" Kento yelled, trying to get out of Dais' web-like prison.
"Silence, Hardrock!" Dais snapped as he turned to face the Warrior of Justice. "You and your friends have interfered with me, my partner, and my master's plans for far too long."
"Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah," Melody replied as she rolled her eyes. "We've heard all this bullshit before."
"Melody," Jazalyn replied as she smacked her forehead, "Shut up. When we go back to America, assuming we're going to get out of this alive, I am not going to explain to your family how you ended up in a body bag."
'Dear God,' Melissa thought, completely ignoring the conversation, 'please give me the strength to do this without letting someone get killed.'
Dais shifted his attention from Kento to Melody and Jazalyn, "the voice of reason and the annoying little girl. Perhaps I'll…" it was right then and there when he noticed that Melissa was starting turn chalk white. "Is something wrong my little light?"
'What am I doing?' Melissa thought as she cringed. 'If I betray him, then…no, don't think about that…don't think about what's going to happen to your family when he finds out you've betrayed him.'
"Melissa?" Dais asked again.
"Mel?" Sarah asked in a concerned tone-of-voice, "Are you okay? You're turning chalk white!"
"I give you five seconds to give me an answer Dais," Melissa snapped, startling everyone.
"What the…" the Illusion Warlord began.
"Five…Four…" Melissa began the countdown.
"WHAT'S GOING ON?" Melody yelled.
"Three…Two…"
"Melissa! What are you…?" Brian asked.
"One…Zero."
When Melissa reached zero, the young woman whipped out the Ancient One's staff that, a few minutes earlier, had been hidden behind her back. Without warning, the staff let lose all of its power. As the staff continued to pour out its power, scaring away the Nether Spirits and freeing the Ronin Warriors, all Melissa wanted to do was to physically and emotionally shut down. 'Please let me go numb,' Melissa thought, 'I've seen too much, I know too much, and I've betrayed the only person who can protect me and put my loved ones danger. Please dear God, just let me go numb.'
But Melissa didn't go numb; instead, she felt sick to her stomach. The nausea became so bad that eventually, she dropped the staff and fainted. The whole time she unconscious, she never saw or heard the end results of her trick to free the Ronins. She didn't even remember Sarah and Brian moving her off the castle grounds.