Part 15: The Circle is Complete
-May 13th 2000-
The comfy couch in the second-floor family room groaned from overuse as the two girls plopped down unceremoniously, one of them holding a bag of chips in one hand and a drink in the other. The other girl held a drink as well, but instead of a bag of chips in the other hand, she held a bowl of guacamole. The two set their treasure down on the coffee table in front of them and began to eat.
Margot sighed in pleasure as she tasted the guacamole. "Perfect," Margot said, "Just the way I like it."
"I take it the guacamole is good," Julie said with a smirk.
"You could say that, but it would be a great understatement," Margot said in response.
"I guess I'll just have to try it then," Julie said,
taking a tortilla chip out of the bag and dipping it in the guacamole. Stuffing it in her mouth, Julie nodded in
satisfaction as she crunched on the chip.
"You're right. It is really good," Julie
said. Margot harrumphed
"See, I told you so," Margot said superiorly. Julie was about to respond with a smartass response, but stopped herself as she spotted Kento coming up the stairs with a huge smile on his face.
"Hey Kento," Margot said, spotting him as well, "How are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm doing fine. What are you two girls up to? Nothing evil I hope."
"No, we've decided to stay out of trouble today. We're just sitting here, eating chips and guacamole," Julie said, "Do you wanna join us? There're plenty of chips to go around." Julie was obviously trying to lure Kento into staying with them. It didn't work.
"Nah," Kento said, shaking his head, "I've got to go and wake up Lita. She's taking a nap and made me promise to wake her up at 5:00 and it's now 5:00. So, you two have fun, but I have to get going now. See ya two later!" With that, Kento turned and continued walking up the steps to the third floor.
The two girls stared, flabbergasted, at the spot where Kento had just been standing.
"Kento? Turning down food?" Margot said in surprise.
"He must really be in love if he's turning down food," Julie said. Margot turned to look at Julie, her long auburn-red hair being thrown over one shoulder.
"You know," Margot said, "We've been seeing a lot of
that thing called 'love' around here lately, haven't we?"
"Yeah," Julie replied, "With all of the couples getting together, there's been
a lot of love floating around."
"But there're two people who're still not happy like the rest," Margot said. Margot and Julie locked gazes.
"Mia and Ryo," they both said in unison.
"Ooh," Margot said, frustration seeping into her voice, "If only they would get over their little problems of the past and just admit to each other that they love each other! The house would be a much happier place."
"But they're too stubborn to do it," Julie said.
"Well then we'll just have to give them a little push," Margot said with a sly grin on her face. Julie sighed as if in resignation, although she was smiling.
"So much for staying out of trouble today," Julie said; Margot rolled her eyes and heaved a great sigh of annoyance.
"Come on Julie; it's not like we're setting up a practical joke…"
"'Cause God knows we'd never do that," Julie interrupted. Margot glared at Julie for interrupting her, but said nothing about it. Instead, she continued.
"We're just giving two people who are obviously in love with each other a little push in the right direction. It's for their own good. Do you agree or not?" Julie nodded determinedly.
"I agree," Julie said.
"Good. Now let's go find one of them and put the pressure on," Margot said. The two Oracle Warriors stood up and went on a search for either Ryo or Mia, leaving their chips and guacamole behind in the dust.
***
Mia sighed in boredom as her eyes glazed over the words of the book for her
political science class. "Just where do
I have to read up to again?" she whispered to herself. She quickly thumbed through the book and
found the spot where she had to read up to.
"A hundred pages?" Mia scoffed, "I don't think
so!" With that, she snapped the paperback
book shut and tossed it to the side. It
landed on the black leather couch with a soft thump. Mia leaned back, with a smile on her face,
taking a 5-minute break.
She sighed in happiness and had just started relaxing when two voices called out her name. "Oh Mia!" the voices sang out. Oh great, my two favorite people, Mia thought sarcastically, not really wanting to deal with them at the moment, but really having no choice. She turned around to face the stairs and Julie and Margot walked up to the third floor.
"Hi Mia!" Margot exclaimed as she and Julie finally made it to the top of the stairs, each of them barely winded.
"Hey you two, what do you want?" Mia asked jovially. With that invite, the two girls plopped down on the couch on either side of Mia. Mia felt like she was being cornered.
"We only want you to answer one question and then we'll let you get back to whatever you were doing before we interrupted you," Julie said.
"Why do I have the feeling that although I'm not going to like the question, I'm going to have to answer it anyway?" Mia asked, casting her eyes heavenward.
"Because," Margot said cheerfully, "You love us!" Mia eyed the two of them before caving in.
"Alright," she said, "What's your question?"
"Well, it's a simple question Mia. All you have to do is say yes or no," Margot pointed out.
"Well, what's the question? I can't answer it if you guys don't ask it." Julie and Margot looked at each other before Julie asked the question.
"Mia, are you in love with Ryo?" Mia froze; how in the world was she supposed to answer that question? She felt like the wind had been knocked out of her and she was completely speechless and taken aback by the question.
Julie and Margot threw each other another look and looked back at Mia with cautious and hopeful looks on their faces.
"See," Margot said, "It's a very easy question to answer. Is it yes or no?" Mia looked at the two of them.
"I thought you two knew everything. So why are you asking me this?" The twins were equally as taken aback by Mia's question. How did they answer? After conferring briefly telepathically, they did the only thing they could do to get the answer out of Mia: they lied.
"Well, we don't know everything," Margot said.
"But that's not the point," Julie continued, "Do you or not?" Mia's face hardened with resolve.
"I'm not answering that."
"Please?" the two girls pleaded.
"No," she said simply.
"Ooh, why not?" Margot asked with a pout on her face.
"Because I don't feel like discussing my personal feelings with the two of you!" Mia barked out. The twins were unaffected by Mia's harsh tone.
"Please!" Julie begged.
"No! For the last time, no!"
Ryo, at that same moment, happened to be walking down the hallway from Serena's room. The two had been working on a project for history together up in Serena's room and Ryo was going to get something they needed. He had happened upon the conversation and, although he knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, pressed himself up against the wall and settled into listen.
"Come on Mia, you know you wanna answer the question," Margot said, trying to coax the answer out.
"Do you or don't you? When you give us our answer, we'll leave you alone," Julie said, also trying to convince Mia to answer. Finally, Mia just snapped.
"Fine! I'll answer your stupid question. If only you'll leave me alone!" Drawing in a deep breath to replenish the air she just wasted on yelling at the twins, Mia said loudly, "Yes, I do; I do love Ryo! Now will you leave me alone?"
Julie and Margot smiled; they got the honest truth out of Mia, even if it did take a little prodding. Margot was about to say something on the subject of Mia telling Ryo that, but there was no need; Ryo had already heard it.
Stepping out of the hallway and entering the room, Ryo said, "Mia? You do?" The three girls froze and Mia felt like she was going to die. Her heart sunk to her toes and she was sure she was going to pass out. Slowly, she stood up and turned around, facing Ryo, her face white as a sheet. "Ryo," she whispered, "How much did you hear?"
"Enough," he said simply. Mia choked back a sob and, with her face turning bright red, she fled the room, running down the stairs and away from the three who were in the family room.
Margot stood staring at the spot where she last saw Mia while Julie walked over to Ryo and laid a consoling hand on his arm. "Hey, Ryo, are you alright?" Julie said in response to his dazed look. Margot, too, walked over and expressed her concern.
"Yeah Ryo," she said, "You look kinda pale. Like you're going to pass out." Ryo didn't say anything; he just pushed past the two and moved to the couch, where he not so gracefully plopped down. Julie and Margot walked over Ryo and sat down on the couch that was opposite from him, waiting for him to respond in any way. Finally, he spoke.
"What am I going to do?" he asked.
"Well, how do you feel?" Margot asked back. Ryo paused as he thought about it for a moment.
"I feel happy yet troubled all at the same time."
"What do you mean?" Julie asked.
"Well," Ryo said, "I'm happy that I finally know that she loves me, but I feel troubled because I have a feeling that she's going to avoid me again like she did a couple of years ago when we first kissed." Ryo just sighed and put his head in his hands.
There was silence for a few moments until Julie spoke up.
"Do you love her?" Julie asked softly, her voice almost a whisper. Ryo chuckled a little bit, a half smile forming on his face.
"Yeah, I love her. I have ever since I first heard her voice, telling the other Ronin Warriors and myself that we had to work as a team in order to beat the dynasty soldier."
"Then tell her," Margot and Julie said simultaneously.
"But you might wanna wait until she's calmed down a little bit. She was pretty shaken up from finding out that you heard her. Hey, why were you standing there? Were you eavesdropping?" Margot asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion at Ryo, who looked all for the world like an innocent little kid who had gotten his hand caught in the cookie jar.
"Well, I was, but not intentionally. I was walking down the hallway from Serena's room when I happened to overhear the conversation. I thought it was best if I not interrupt and yes, I do admit that I was very curious about what you guys were talking about. I'm sorry that I listened in, but eavesdropping was just too inviting an offer to pass on." Julie and Margot nodded in understanding at Ryo.
"It's ok, Ryo," Margot said.
"We forgive you," Julie said, "Although it's really not us who you should be apologizing to." Julie paused as she thought about what she had just said. "Not that you have anything really to apologize for," she continued. Margot, understanding what Julie was trying to say, stepped in to the conversation.
"I think what my dear sister is trying to say is that we're not the ones who you should be talking to about this. Mia is," Margot said.
"But, I have to wait until she calms down a little bit, like you guys said, because otherwise she just might push me away again and there's nothing I would hate more than that," Ryo said, tears forming in his eyes at the thought of Mia ignoring him again; he didn't think he could handle it a second time.
Margot and Julie stood up and walked over to Ryo. Julie laid her hand on his shoulder.
"Well, I'm sure that you'll know when it's time to talk to her and that you'll tell her that you love her," Julie said.
"You will tell her that you love her, won't you?" Margot asked, hoping the answer would be yes. She wasn't disappointed.
"Yeah, I'm going to tell her. I've waited long enough to tell her and she needs to know. It's not really fair for her to know that I know that she loves me, yet she knows nothing of my feelings. I can't imagine how that would feel, but I would hate to be in that position."
Ryo stood up and quickly switched the subject. "Well," he said, "I better go get my research supplies from my room. That's why I was heading down this way in the first place. I better hurry though; I've been gone long enough and Serena's going to start to worry." Ryo paused and threw them a smile before continuing. "So, I'll see you two girls later, alright?" He didn't wait for their response before he started off down the stairs.
Margot shook her head, as if Ryo were hopeless. "There goes one lovesick boy," she said.
"Yeah," Julie said, fully agreeing. Turing to her older twin, Julie said, "Hey, do you wanna get back to those chips?" A small smile turned up the corners of Margot's mouth.
"Yeah," Margot said, "I do." Together, the two girls walked down the stairs and back to their chips and guacamole; it was as if the events from the last 20 minutes had never happened.
***
The sound of her footsteps was the only noise that filled the vast hallway as
she padded across the marble floor. The
noise echoed off the wall and reverberated softly in her ears as she made her
way across the hallway. She reached the
end of the hallway and opened a door on the left side of the wall. She slowly opened the door, careful not to
make any noise for that would wake him up and she couldn't risk him waking
up. As she stepped into the room, she
heard the soft, rumbling purr of the large white tiger that lay along side the
bed.
"Hi White Blaze," Mia whispered, a slight smile appearing on her face as she shut the door to Ryo's room as quietly as she could. After closing the door, Mia made her way through the darkened room, the faint light of the half moon shining through the window, spilling over the floor and onto a small corner of Ryo's bed. Using this light, Mia was able to navigate herself over to the large bed with no mishaps. Carefully stepping over White Blaze, Mia gently climbed into the bed, trying not to shift the bed.
Ryo, who was only half asleep, felt the bed dip under the pressure of another body. Opening his eyes enough to see who it was, he was surprised to see Mia sitting on his bed, looking down at him. He wanted to ask her what she was doing, but knew if he did, she would leave, so he pretended to be asleep and waited for Mia to do something.
Several moments passed where nothing happened. Unbeknownst to Ryo, Mia was just taking pleasure in looking at Ryo, admiring his face as he "slept". Mia went on like that for several moments before, without the knowledge that Ryo was in fact awake, she began to speak. "So, I guess you heard me say that I love you, huh?" She laughed slightly, reflecting on what had happened. "I never figured you would find out like that. I always thought that I would tell you to your face with the hopes that you might return the sentiment. Now, I don't know. I'm worried that I might have scared you off. 2 years ago, when you kissed me, I wasn't ready. Now, I'm ready, but I'm not so sure if you are."
Mia sighed and there was a slight pause. "Our relationship has been so rocky over the past couple of years, I sometimes don't know where I stand with you. I wish I always knew; I value your opinion highly, higher than anybody else's. What I mean to you and what you think of me matters so much in how I think of myself. I know it's unhealthy to have that mentality, but, when you're in love, what're you going to do about it? There's nothing I can do or could have done to stop myself from falling in love with you. And trust me, it wasn't like I planned on falling in love or anything.
"If somebody had told me that I was going to fall in love with somebody that was 4 years younger than I was, I would have laughed in their face, saying that I would never go for someone who was so much younger than I was. But, with you, the age difference doesn't matter at all because you act so much older than you are.
"I think that's one of the things I love most about you. You look at the world through a much more mature and understanding viewpoint than normal guys your age. But, that may come from having to save the world a couple of times before the age of 15. However, you're maturity isn't the only thing I love about you. I love everything about you and I wish I knew how you felt about me because this not knowing is tearing me apart." Mia finished her monologue, a couple of tears running down her face, and Ryo couldn't keep quiet any longer. He grabbed Mia's hand, almost laughing as she jumped in surprise, and sat up slowly, saying, "If you wanted to know how I felt about you, you could have just asked." Mia looked at Ryo with wide eyes.
"You're awake?" she whispered before attempting to pull her hand away. "I have to go," she muttered, but Ryo's grip on her hand tightened, keeping her in place.
"No," he said firmly, "You are not leaving this room until you've asked me how I feel about you." Mia struggled to pull her hand away, but to no avail. "Ryo, please, don't make me…"
"Mia," he said slowly, "Just ask me." Mia totally missed the joy in Ryo's eyes as she gave in with a sigh.
"Fine," she said, defeated, her eyes down cast, "How do you feel about me?" Ryo smiled; now was his chance to tell her how he felt. He lifted his other hand and used it to tuck a loose strand of Mia's hair behind her ear before grabbing the hand he already held; he now held Mia's hand in his two larger ones.
Mia's averted eyes lifted to look into Ryo's own and the moment she did, her heart soared in hopefulness; she saw the sparkle in his eyes, the smile on his face, and she prayed.
"Well, let's see," Ryo said, purposely avoiding answering the question, "I feel a lot about you. Sometimes I feel anger. Sometimes I feel annoyance. I feel happiness." Ryo emphasized the sentiment by lifting her hand so he could kiss one of her knuckles. "I feel joy." Another kiss. "I feel laughter." And yet another kiss. He paused and gave her a devilish grin that made her heart skip a beat. "Sometimes I feel lust." Ryo's smile turning tender, he finished up with, "But most of the time I feel love." At Mia's shocked look, he continued.
"Yes," Ryo said, "You heard me right. I feel love for you. Mia, I love you. I've loved you for so long. As I told Margot and Julie, I've loved you since the first moment I heard your voice calling out to the Ronin Warriors, telling us that we had to work as a team. And then I laid my eyes on you and fell in love with you more. I don't think I knew that I was in love with you then, but over time I realized it and hoped that you returned the same feeling. Now I know that you do and my life couldn't be more perfect." A couple of tears rolled down Mia's cheeks.
"And to think that we wasted so much time. If only I hadn't run away after you kissed me the first time. I'm so sorry I ran away from you Ryo." Ryo smiled.
"It's alright; I understand. You were scared and didn't know what to do. And don't worry about the lost time. We can always make it up." He pulled her closer and fixed his devilish smile on her again. "And we can start right now." Mia smiled and let out a small giggle before Ryo's lips captured hers in a kiss. She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and pulled herself closer to him, kissing him with more fervor. Ryo happily returned the kiss with an equal amount of passion.
Mia was the first one to pull away. "I love you," she said softly. Ryo smiled gently with the slightest hint of joking arrogance.
"I know," he said before pulling her in for another kiss. And this time, Mia didn't run away.
***
-May 14th, 2000-
Ryo awoke early the next morning to the sunlight streaming in through the French doors and onto his face. He squeezed his eyelids together in an attempt to block out the sunlight and pulled the warm being in his arms closer to him. He relaxed his eyelids and opened his eyes as he smiled, remembering the previous night. He could feel Mia's warmth through her pajamas as he cradled her to his chest. He propped himself up on one elbow so he could admire her in the early morning.
Her long auburn hair fanned out on the pillow, catching the sunlight and reflecting it, creating something that resembled a halo that framed her head. Mia's face was relaxed in sleep, her eyelashes barely brushing up against her skin and her lips slightly parted, allowing air to move in and out of them. He smiled at her angelic appearance as he leaned over to tenderly kiss her temple.
A feeling of déjà vu hit him and remembered the memories he gained back just hours before. He remembered everything about his life during the Silver Millennium, especially the part about his engagement to Mia. His smiled widened as he remembered that aspect of his past life. Maybe we really were meant for each other then, Ryo thought happily.
His gaze shifting towards the window, he saw that the position of the sun was moving, the light of the sun getting closer and closer to shining into Mia's eyes. Not wanting her to be awakened harshly the sunlight, Ryo carefully crept out of be and walked over to the French doors, closing the sheer blue curtains, softening the room by casting it a pale blue light. Satisfied that Mia's sleep would remain uninterrupted, Ryo got back into bed and pulled Mia gently into his arms, so as not to wake her, and was content to just watching her sleep.
***
Mina slipped her hand into Cye's and squeezed it as they walked together in silence. The young couple turned their heads to look at each other and they both smiled at the same time, catching the other's eye. Cye forced Mina to release his hand so he could put his arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer to him. Mina giggled contently as she slipped one arm around Cye's waist, huddling up against him as they through the park underneath the early morning sun.
There were still hints of spring dew on the leaves and the park was sparsely populated that morning, so Mina and Cye practically had the whole park to themselves. They walked over to the shores of the lake and settled down in the soft grass underneath a tree. Mina sat in between Cye's legs and leaned up against him as he leaned up against a tree, his arms wrapped around her, holding her close to him.
They were both silent as they marveled over the beauty of the park. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Cye said as his eyes danced over the lake, taking in all the beauty of the water as it sparkled from the light of the sun.
"Yeah, it is," Mina said with a content smile on her face, "I'm happy we decided to take this walk." Cye leaned over and gave Mina a soft kiss on the shoulder.
"I am too," he whispered in her ear. She laughed as his breath tickled her ear and settled further into his arms. They sat like that, in perfect silence, for what seemed like forever until a sudden explosion occurred and disturbed their peace. The couple stood up and, looking at each other with confused faces, rushed off towards the source of the explosion.
They ran until they hit a set of bushes. "I think whatever it is that caused the explosion is over on the other side of these bushes," Mina whispered. Cye nodded in agreement and, as quietly as they could, the couple peered over the edges of the bushes, trying to find the cause of the explosion. Mina's eyes widened in recognition and fear as her sights fell on the figure on the other side of the bushes.
"Oh god," Mina whispered meekly before moving away from the bushes. Cye looked at Mina confusedly and, taking one last look over the bushes, turned to follow Mina. "Mina, what is it?" he asked when they were out of hearing distance of the figure, "Do you recognize that person?" Mina faced Cye and looked up into his eyes.
"Yeah," she said, "I do. It's one of Metallia's generals. She's the one who tortured me when I was captured last year. Remember that?" Mina said.
"Yeah," Cye said, his voice gruff, "I remember. But, we have to do something about it. We have to face her." Seeing the scared look on Mina's face, Cye rushed to reassure her.
"Don't worry," he said softly, "You're a lot stronger than you were then. You can stand up to her this time."
"Do you think so?" Mina asked hopefully. Cye smiled tenderly.
"I know so," he confirmed. Mina nodded determinedly.
"Alright," she said, "Let's go kick that general's butt!" Together, the two of them transformed into their sub-armors and rushed back to where they saw the figure. Bursting through the bushes, they looked at the general straight in the eyes. "Stop whatever you're doing!" Mina said.
"Whatever you're trying to do, you won't get away with it," Cye yelled.
Labradorite was standing in the middle of what looked like a war zone. Trees and bushes were mangled and the ground beneath her was parched and burnt. There were tears streaming down her face, tears of disappointment and loss: disappointment over her failed attempts to get the Universal Warriors and loss over her true love, Cairngorm. She missed him more than words could say and would do anything in her power to destroy the people who destroyed him.
Slowly turning her head to see who had spotted her, Labradorite's eyes narrowed in anger and rage at who she saw. "YOU!" she screamed, recognizing the two warriors as part of the team she was trying to get rid of. Without a warning and a pain filled scream, Labradorite sent a powerful blast of energy at the two warriors, causing them to dodge and jump away from the enraged general. "I say we transform," Cye said.
"I couldn't agree more," Mina said in response before concentrating her power for transforming. "I call upon the armor of the Heavens. Armor of the Heavens, TO ARMS!"
"Armor of Torrent, DAO SHI!"
Within seconds, the two warriors were fully armed and ready to fight Labradorite. Labradorite, seeing that the two had transformed, became even more enraged, knowing that they now had a better chance of destroying her. With that thought in mind, she sent another blast out at the Mina and Cye, forcing them, once again, to dodge it. With that, the battle began.
***
Serena shot straight up in bed as she felt the energy radiating off of whatever
enemy was attacking this time. Actually, Serena wasn't in her own bed; she was
in Darien's bed, with the owner still fast asleep.
"Darien, wake up," she said tugging on the sleeve of his T-shirt, "There's an enemy attack and we have to go." Darien grumbled as he was brought out of his slumber.
"Now?" he asked, "At this hour?"
"Yes," Serena hissed, throwing the covers off, "Now get out of bed and let's go. We don't have much time; this one is strong." She left Darien to get out of bed as she rushed over to the bathroom, transforming into her sub-armor along the way, and burst into Ryo's bedroom.
"Hey, Ryo," she shouted, "Get up! There's an enemy attack!" She was going to say more, but the words died in her throat as she saw that Ryo was not alone in bed. Snuggled up against him was Mia, who was woken up by Serena's yelling.
"What was that?" Mia said groggily. Serena smiled inwardly, happy that Ryo and Mia had finally gotten together. But, she ignored it for the moment as to not make either of them embarrassed.
"God," she said, "Is it a brother and sister thing, Mia? You and Darien are both not lucid when you first wake up in the morning."
"Serena," Ryo said, "Did you say that there was an enemy attack?"
"Yeah," Serena said, "Why would I be wearing my sub-armor if there weren't?" Ryo thought about this for a moment as Serena exited his room and entered the hallway.
"Good point," he said, getting out of bed and transforming into his sub-armor as well. Mia followed suit and joined the cousins in the hallway, where Darien was also waiting, wearing his black sub-armor.
"Come on," Serena said with a urgent tone in her voice, "We have to go." Serena started rushing down the hallway.
"Aren't we going to get the others?" Mia asked, running beside Serena. Serena shook her head.
"There's no time!" she exclaimed, "We have to take care of this enemy and fast. We're just going to have to take care of this ourselves, I'm afraid."
The group of four rushed out of the house and, with Serena leading the group, headed towards the source of the evil energy. Serena followed the energy residue and was not surprised to find herself at the park. Why do they always attack the park, I wonder? Serena asked herself as she ran through the park. As they neared the location of the enemy, they heard a loud voice cry out, "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!" followed by "BEAUTY SHOCKWAVE!"
"So," Ryo said, "I guess Mina and Cye were here when whatever it was attacked. Otherwise, why would they be here and how would they know about it?" Serena shrugged and called out the cry that would invoke her armor. Her armor incased her body as she ran and she saw the others do the same out of the corner of her eye. They burst into the battle scene, shocking Mina, Cye, and Labradorite.
"Oh great," Labradorite said loud enough for everyone to hear, "More of you. Just what I needed." Labradorite shrugged and said, "Oh well, that just means that I can get rid of more of you at once." This arrogant response angered the 6 warriors more than words could describe. They couldn't believe her arrogance when she was greatly outnumbered. But, when Labradorite fired another powerful blast, even more powerful than the ones before it, the 6 knew that alone, the female general stood a chance at winning.
Mina and Cye were angry at Labradorite. She had evaded all of their attacks and was delivering blasts that were more powerful. It just seemed like she wouldn't die no matter what. Standing side-by-side, Mina and Cye closed their eyes and concentrated their power, preparing to attack. The two looked into each other's eyes and, for the moment, it seemed like no one else was there with them as their minds were pulled into the past…
***
Princess Mina felt like her heart was soaring as she felt the lips of her prince descend upon hers. Prince Cye of Torrent's arms wrapped around her waist, pulling Mina closer to him as they kissed. The summer night was warm and refreshing, especially on the veranda that the two were standing on.
Mina felt no pangs of guilt as they kissed. Although she was engaged to Malachite, she didn't care for him at all, even if he did care for her. She also knew that Cye didn't care for his fiancé, the general Zoicite, but she knew that Zoicite cared for Cye.
Mina reluctantly pulled away from the kiss and looked into Cye's blue-green eyes. "You know," Mina whispered, "One of these days, we might get caught. And that would be bad." Cye chuckled and leaned in to plant a kiss at the crook of her neck.
"We won't get caught," Cye said, his voice also a whisper, "Zoicite and Malachite don't have the slightest clue as to what's going on.
"Oh we don't, do we?" a female voice piped up. Mina and Cye jumped apart, shocked and horrified to see Zoicite and Malachite standing in the entrance to the veranda.
"Zoicite, it's not what you think…" Cye said, his words rushed, but he was cut off by his enraged fiancé.
"How dare you give me excuses?" Zoicite said, her voice shrill, "I loved you and I thought you loved me. But it seems that you rather be with this little wench than with me." Zoicite stepped up to Cye and looked him straight in the eye, her gaze boring into his eyes.
"Our engagement is off," she whispered harshly before slapping him in the face and walking away, leaving only Malachite standing there, facing the couple.
"Malachite, I…" Mina said.
"Don't bother," Malachite said, his voice stone cold with anger, "I don't want to hear your reasons. For all purposes, legal and personal, our marriage is off. Good bye Mina." Malachite, too, left the scene, leaving Mina and Cye alone.
Tears welled up in Mina's eyes as she violently kicked the veranda's railing, not noticing the sharp pain in her foot as she did so. Cye walked over to her and took her into his arms, trying to calm her down. "Shh, don't worry," he said, "Everything will work itself out, I know it," Cye said, his words used solely for comfort; he wasn't sure how much he believed them himself.
"No, it's not that," Mina said, her voice constricted by tears, "It's the fact that I have to face my parents. They're going to be furious when they find out that it's my fault that Malachite broke off our engagement. And the thing about it is that I don't care." A tear trickled down Mina's face as she tilted her head up to look at Cye.
"All I care about is being with you. I love you and that's the only thing that matters to me right now." Cye smiled, sharing the same sentiment.
"I feel the same way. I could care less that Zoicite broke off our engagement. In fact, I'm relieved that she did. Now I can be with you without worrying about her catching me. I have you; that's enough for me. I love you Mina." Mina smiled up at him.
"Kiss me?" she said, more as a question than a statement.
"Always," Cye said as he leaned in to kiss his true love.
***
Once the memory faded and real life came back into focus, Mina put her bow away
and laid her hands on Cye's, which were holding his Yari
straight out, pointing it at Labradorite. As her hands touched his, her power flowed
into him, which in turn flowed into the Yari, which
began to glow a shade of electrifying pale blue. Together, Mina and Cye pushed the power out
of the Yari and towards Labradorite,
both of them yelling, "HEAVENLY AQUA SERPENT!"
The power shaped itself into a serpent, heading straight for Labradorite and wrapping around her, as if trying to
squeeze the life out of her.
Labradorite screamed, but didn't die; she was just in extreme pain. Mina and Cye's eyes flickered towards the group of four who were standing by, waiting to help. The 4 other warriors saw the needy look in Mina and Cye's eyes and rushed to help, following Mina and Cye's example.
"MOONLIGHT SPIRIT ATTACK!" Darien and Serena cried out at the same time, using the Silver Crystal to magnify their combined powers, sending a stream of light and dark energy towards Labradorite. The energy combined with Mina and Cye's attack, delivering Labradorite more pain, but not actually killing her.
Mia and Ryo decided that it was their turn to help out. "WILDFIRE SOUL BLAZE!" the couple yelled together, crossing their swords in front of them in the shape of an X, sending a massive amount of power in the form of white fire towards Labradorite.
Labradorite, not able to withstand the massive amount of energy that was bombarding her, surrendered to it, wanting the release so badly. "I'm coming for you Cairngorm. Wait for me," she whispered before disappearing. The energy from the attacks disappeared, leaving the 6 warriors alone in the park on a Sunday morning. "Finally, the generals are gone," Serena said.
"Is that the last of the generals?" Cye asked, worried that there would be more.
"Yes, she was the last of the generals if I counted correctly," Darien said, "I don't remember there being anymore than 8 total, but when you add Talpa, that makes 9 and we've killed 9 over the course of three years."
"Good," Cye said, "I'd hate to face another general. I just want to face Metallia and get it over with." Mina fixed a skeptical look on Cye.
"Be careful what you wish for," Mina said, "You just might get it." Cye only threw Mina back the same look before detransforming to his sub-armor. "Come on, you guys," Cye said, "Let's go home. I'm hungry and Mina and I forgot to eat before setting out this morning." The others detransformed as well and Mia spoke up.
"Yeah, that's a good question: why were you two out so early this morning. I mean, now, it's probably only 8:00 and you two were here for the beginning of the battle, so you had to be up early," Mia said.
"Well," Mina said, "We got up early this morning and went for a walk because it was so beautiful and nice outside that we felt it shouldn't be wasted. We just happened along at the same time that the general attacked the park, that's all."
"Oh," Mia said simply. The group of six rushed home, envisioning food for they were all hungry after battling. They ran home in record time, all of them eager to get their hands on food, and were greeted by a loud shout. "So there you guys are," Raye shouted, coming out of the dining room where everyone else was, "We were wondering where you guys were."
"Oh," Serena said, "We were out battling the last general." The group of six, plus Raye, walked into the dining room.
"What did you say?" Kento said, taking a bite of toast.
"I said we were battling the last general," Serena repeated.
"Did you win?" Sage asked hopefully. Serena shot Sage a look.
"Am I standing here in front of you now?" Serena asked back.
"I'll take that as a yes," Sage said.
"Yeah, and good riddance that she's gone," Cye said, "She was such a B-I-T-C-H," Cye spelled out. Ami looked at Cye seriously.
"Cye, I think we're a little old to be spelling things out," she said.
"Yeah," Mina said, "Any idiot knows that that spells." Rowen chose that moment to speak up.
"A 'bitca'?" he asked, groggily. At the other end of the table, Julie and Margot burst out laughing while everyone just stared at Rowen. Ami looked at him in surprise and shock.
"You did not just say that," Ami said hurriedly, not believing it.
"No really, what's a bitca?" Rowen asked. Ami only sighed and dropped her head into her hands.
"No, you really did say that. Great. My super genius boyfriend's an idiot."
"What?" Rowen asked, "What'd I say?" Kento, who was sitting on the other site of Rowen, spoke to him.
"Rowen, Cye said B-I-T-C-H. Not B-I-T-C-A. It's H, not A. Bitch," Kento said slowly, enunciating every sound.
"Oh, I get it," Rowen said, "Sorry, I'm a little slow and hard of hearing in the morning."
"So I noticed," Ami said under her breath. Rowen looked over at her and smiled.
"Oh lighten up," he said, leaning over and giving her a kiss. Rowen's stupidity was immediately forgotten by Ami as he kissed her briefly.
"So," Alex said, "We're down to just Metallia."
"Yeah," Serena said, detransforming into her pajamas, "All we can do now is wait for Metallia's attack. We have no way of attacking her first, so, unfortunately, it's up to her to take the initiative." Serena paused for a moment and the moment she did, the sound of her stomach grumbling filled the air. Margot giggled.
"A little hungry there, Serena," Margot said light-heartedly.
"Yeah," Serena said, "Hey Lita, is there any food left?"
"Is there any food left?" Lita repeated, shocked at the question, "Of course, there's always food left. Just sit down and help yourself." Serena and the other 5 warriors detransformed, all of them joining the ranks of their fellow comrades and settling in for a nice Sunday breakfast.
********
Hi! I know, I know, I haven't updated in forever . . . sorry! I was skiing for a while and then I finally got home (our condo has neither phone nor internet) and I had to clean house because we had relatives invading for the weekend from England . . . but now I'm back and I hope to finish this book up before I leave for school again next week. So review and its more likely the last chapter and epilogue will appear quickly. Another chapter, the last couple (happiness!) The Bitca conversation, you might recognize – points to those who figure out what from! : ) ~Des
