Atia, in response, shrieked as her stallion bugled a call and jumped away from the bright red flag. Plunging madly, he plowed himself and rider right into the opposite barrel, knocking the barrel, sand bucket, flag, and himself, over. Trista winced as she saw her friend's leg become pinned between horse and barrel. There was a mighty clang as Atia was thrown out of her saddle and into the fence as Sleetcold struggled to stand.
The over-excited stallion roared and thrashed frantically, throwing the white barrel onto Atia, who shouted and covered her face with her arms. He plunged to his feet and reared up, shying away from the barrels and galloping up to Trista and her mount in fear.
"Atia! Are you okay??" Trista called in alarm, trotting the roan gelding she was on over to her friend and dismounting quickly.
Atia groaned. "My leg is killing me." Shaking, she rolled her pants leg up and gasped as her fingers brushed an already-growing black bruise. "Ow, ow, ow..."
"I guess he doesn't do flags, hm?" Trista asked gently, shoving the barrel away from them.
"Apparently not." Atia's fingers grabbed the fence behind her, and she hauled herself to her feet. "Ah!" She let out a high-pitched exhale of air and stumbled. Trista caught her, trying not to grab hold of her shoulders for fear of other injuries.
"Do you want me to try him?" the green-haired woman asked quietly.
"Only if you want to. God, that bastard," Atia whispered, but she loved the horse and was just releasing steam.
"I don't mind. Here, let me help you over to the gate." Slowly the two hobbled over the gate, and Atia leaned against it heavily.
"Sleet!" She let out a curt whistle, and the stallion pranced up to her, stopping a few feet out of her grabbing reach uncertainly. "Come on, it's okay," she murmured, extending a hand. The stallion shook his head, then dropped his muzzle in her palm. "Good boy."
"Could you hold Talin?" Trista asked, grabbing the horse's reins and leading him up to Sleet and Atia.
"Of course. Here." Trista handed Atia the reins, then rightened the barrel, put some hand back into the bucket, put it on top of the barrel, then put the red flag securely in the bucket. She walked back to Atia and took the reins, then mounted the black horse and walked him around a little. "Watch his left lead! He tends to hop."
"Got it!" Trista called. "Does he need direct rein?"
"He obeys leg commands better."
Trista nodded, then brought the horse back at a trot. When he stilled, Trista gave a sharp whistle and nudged him in the sides. As they approached the barrel at a canter, she could feel the horse's gait stiffen, then lock when they were two feet from the barrel. The horse squealed as he tried to balk. Trista, prepared, stood in the stirrups and grabbed the shank of the bit, then forced his chin to his neck, holding his head up all the while. He snorted and tried to shake his head, but the position prevented him from doing so. "Enough!" she said sharply, releasing one hand and giving him a sharp slap in the neck before grabbing it again. Quivering ever so slightly, he stilled almost completely. The woman nudged him back towards the flag, and he knew better now than to balk. Trista leaned over and quickly picked the flag from the bucket, then let him have his head. Eager to move, the stallion bolted to the far barrel. Trista swung him around it, then flat-out ran him the final barrel, leaning over and sticking the flag securely in the other bucket at a speed of forty-five miles an hour. Before Sleetcold could even see the flag, she spun him in a tight circle and stopped.
"It is possible," Atia said with a tight smile. "Good moves."
Trista chuckled and then smiled at her. "Thanks, even though you are the one who taught me that."
Atia smiled wryly. "Maybe I should pin flags all around his stall so he gets used to them." Trista laughed.
Suddenly a familiar voice called, "Trista! Atia! We saw the entire thing! You guys are amazing!"
"Rini!" Atia said in surprise, then watched as Amara, Serena, Darien, and Serena followed her. She smiled warmly. "What are you guys doing here? Where's Michelle?"
"She's at violin practice," Amara replied.
"We were on our way out to supper and saw your car, so we figured to stop by and see if you guys wanted to join us," Darien answered.
"Autumn's inside; is it okay if she comes, too?" Atia asked, shaking the bangs out of her eyes. "That's fine," he replied with a grin.
"How'd you know I'd be here?" Trista smiled, legging the prancing stallion into a complicated dressage move to make him calm down.
"You guys are, like, joined at the hip or something," Serena giggled. "Wherever one is, there's the other."
Rini nodded, then frowned. "Atia, are you okay? I saw him fall..."
"I'll be fine. Just a couple of bruises."
"Would you want to barrel race him again? Or are you up to it?" Trista asked with a smile.
"Sure." Trista rode up to her and dismounted. Atia walked up to the stallion, then removed his saddle and blanket.
"He needs to cool off," Atia murmured, feeling her friend's curiosity.
"Leg-up?"
"Please." Trista knelt a little and cupped her hands. Atia put her foot in her hands, then was quickly on the back of her horse. Her back towards the others, only Trista saw the look of intense pain cross her face. "Th-thanks."
Trista put a hand on her leg. "Look, you don't have to race him. It was just a suggestion."
"No. I'm fine."
Atia turned him towards the barrels, then stopped. Sensing something wrong with his mistress, the stallion did not act up as he had done earlier. The girl took a deep breath, then leaned forward and shouted, "Ha!" as they took off at a dead run.
Sleetcold was told to cut sharply, slowing only to avoid running into the fence. Atia's knees and thighs gripped his sides, her hands tight on the reins to guide the hardheaded stallion. She didn't slide or slip in the least bit. He crossed up in the figure eight pattern and spun around the second barrel, then ran like hell was on his heels to the last barrel. He whipped sharply around it, then ran faster (if possible) back towards Trista. Atia spun him, and he shook his head with a snort.
Atia was seeing stars from the pain. Her leg felt like it was on fire from gripping. She kicked her right leg over, then landed clumsily on it instead of her left leg. Temporarily loosing her balance, she clutched Sleet's mane. He stood stock-still, turned his head and touched her side with his nose with a soft whicker. Atia gently touched his nose, and he whickered continuously as he bobbed his head for a moment, then swung his head around and lowered the upper half of his body to the ground, kneeling before her. Atia smiled, then slid back onto his back. He stood as though she wasn't there and walked to the gate, pawing the ground until Trista opened it, swinging his saddle on Talin's back.
Rini rode with Atia, Autumn, and Trista. Atia's sky blue mustang followed Darien's red one through town after they had picked up Michelle. As they drove, Atia's cell phone rang. Never once looking down, and with an annoyed sigh, she answered it. "Hello?"
There was a familiar chuckle, then the line went dead. Atia glanced in her rear-view mirror with a frown and saw nothing as she put the phone down, then glanced up as they neared an intersection. As they were between the four lanes, she gasped as she saw a semi truck barreling towards them. If she sped up, she'd rear-end Darien. There was a crescendo of screaming, of tires and of humans both, as she slammed on the breaks and turned sharply to the left, spinning around in a tight circle as the vehicle roared past them.
Atia immediately gunned the accelerator, stopping the circling and sending them flying forward, through and away the intersection. "What was that about?!" Trista demanded.
"I don't know. I guess...he's getting desperate," she replied through clenched teeth. Her bruised leg had been slammed into the car door, and she was having trouble concentrating. "Look at my phone and tell me the number that last called." Trista did as she was told and bit her tongue so hard it bled. "Tris?" Atia asked in alarm, glancing at her friend and seeing blood leaking from the corners of her mouth.
"It says...U-DIE-SOO-NATI."
"Only Lia called me Ati," Atia said sharply. Trista's mouth stopped bleeding as she frowned. "He's bluffing. He has to be."
"Ti, you don't think he'd reincarnate her, do you?" Autumn asked uncertainly from the back seat.
Atia closed her eyes briefly. When they opened, they shimmered with tears. "Pray he doesn't."
At about that time, Darien slowed so that Atia had to pull up beside him. "You guys okay?" Amara shouted.
"Fine!" Trista called back, giving a fake smile.
A single tear escaped Atia's eye and ran down her face, whipped away immediately by the wind. "Lia."
The moment Atia stepped out of her car and put weight on her left leg, she fell to her knees. The pain was dizzying, and her ribs and back hurt as well. Carefully extending her left leg before her, she rolled up her pants leg and groaned. The bottom half of her leg was black with bruising, and her upper leg was mottled green and blue. It was a miracle within itself that nothing had been broken. Get up! her paranoid mind shouted at herself. Get up, get up, get up! He could be anywhere!
She seized the door of her car and hauled herself up quickly, careful to favor her left leg. Even so, she felt like she was going to fall. When her hand came out for balance, she was surprised to find someone grab her arm and lean against her. Atia closed her eyes in momentary defeat.
"Come on, let's go," Trista said gently. "We'll sit down in a moment."
"This is why you're my best friend, you know that, right?"
The other smiled and gave her a brief hug. "Of course."
"Trista? You'll always be here with me, won't you?"
"Of course I will."
"Atia!" Serena was beside her, blue eyes wavering in alarm. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine, Seren." She smiled. "Just a little...subdued."
Darien, Serena, Michelle, Amara, and Rini all noticed something different about Atia. She seemed more in touch, less...out of it...than they realized she had been since they met her. She was more prone to laugh, comment, and make general talk.
At the end of the meal, there was a modest and brief discussion about who was paying which Darien ended up winning. As they stood from the round bench to leave, Trista paused to help Atia up so Trista was in front of her.
Suddenly Atia yelped loudly, as though someone had kicked her sore leg, and quickly but gently pushed Trista to her left just as an explosion sounded from the opposite side of the room. Trista gave a cry of her own and grabbed the table edge, knowing what was happening and whirled around just in time to see the power hit Atia and send her crashing into the wall. The girl didn't make a sound as she fell onto the bench and lay unmoving.
"Atia!!" Trista shrieked. "Rini, get yourself and Autumn out of here!"
"Right," she said uncertainly, voice shaking with worry as she grabbed Autumn's hand. "Autumn, come on." The brunette was shaking and staring at Atia in shock. "Autumn! Please!" Rini tugged on her friend's hand. Shaking her head in disbelief, Autumn turned and followed Rini at a dead run out of the restaurant.
"Girls!" Serena said, opening her communicator. "Problem at Vicadi's! Pronto!"
Pluto stood before the round bench, guarding the person behind it. As she watched, the enemy dissolved into Sebradon, who laughed. "Your devotion to the girl is amazing, Guardian. Well, if you're unwilling to move, I'll have to destroy you. You see, this blast is powerful enough to kill two people on contact. Give it a try, hm?"
The green-haired woman's eyes widened, and she held her Time Staff out before her. As the attack roared towards her, she found herself screaming the only thing that came to mind. "Lia!! Help me!" Realizing what she had said, she cried out in dismay.
But then, suddenly, the room flared as though it were on fire, then stopped. The senshi and Sebradon were astonished to see Pluto's staff begin glowing hot purple and blood red. As the attack neared to the striking point, Pluto's staff roared with the light, and the attack struck it.
It was like hitting a metal wall.
The attack roared and thundered against the invisible barrier, making the ground shake. The staff glowed brightly again, and the blistering attack roared back towards Sebradon, who jumped out its harmful way.
The glow around Pluto's staff sparkled, then wafted over to the beholder and swirled around her before vanishing completely. Tears were running silently down Pluto's face, and she closed her eyes briefly.
"What did you do?!" Sebradon shouted, recovering his composure.
Pluto stared at him disbelievingly and shook her head. "I believed in her. Never doubt the believers, Sebradon."
The senshi didn't miss the fact that their enemy's face was chalk white and that he was quivering in shock - or fear. He shouted angrily before yelling, "You got lucky this time, Pluto! Next time-"
"Get out of here, Sebradon!" the woman interrupted, waving the staff in a wide arc around her. "You are no longer welcome on earth! Go!"
In a roar of angry black flame, he did just so.
As he vanished, a white, misted hand appeared, and Pluto put hers up against it, grabbing it tightly. A body unfolded in front of her. A ghost of a woman was on a knee before her, one hand clenched and pressed over her heart, and the other gripping Pluto's. Her hair was long, full, and wavy. The dress she was wearing was long, spilling out onto the floor behind her. She smiled sadly. "Lia, thank you," Pluto whispered, staring down at her. With that, she knelt in front of her friend, and the two embraced.
Watch out, dear friend. Stay strong and do not give up. Do not be fooled. He's pulling me into his charade, but you must be strong. Fight well...Her voice trailed off for Pluto to finish. "...live long." The other vanished, leaving Pluto on one knee. "Oh, Lia..."
