Chapter 7: The Legend of the Fallen Angel
Cheers and applause met the confused girl as she turned away from the window and saw all the men from her hallway standing in her door along with Audrey and Kayla.
"That was absolutely beautiful." Blubbered a patient with a flaming dragon tattoo wrapped around his arm, with a baldhead, and a mustache and goatee on his face.
"It reminded me of my mother." Another said as he wiped the tears away from his eyes.
"I wish I could hear beautiful singing like that every day." Said still another misty-eyed patient.
"Okay guys it's time for bed!" laughed one of the nurses as she corralled the patients back to their own room.
"I'm so sorry Clara I just happened to hear you singing on the communicator and I just had to share it with everyone else." Audrey said laughing as Kayla came over, wrapped an arm around her friend and sat down on the bed with her.
"So who did we meet today?" Kayla asked nonchalantly.
"A boy…actually two." here Kayla and Audrey gasped and urged her to go on, "You remember the boys who saved me earlier today? Well I really like Rowen because he reminds me that everyone has difficulties in life, but at the same time I also like Cye because he reminds me of Shin." Here she smiled and blushed as she fondly thought of the two young men. "Oh what should I do?"
"Well you're going to have to make a choice between the two of them." Audrey said as she sat down on Clara's other side.
"If you ask me," Kayla said as she crossed her arms in thought, "it sounds like you like Rowen and want to pursue him further where as with Cye you seem to think of him as a dear friend."
"Well I think Clara should go for Cye, it sounds like he's a cutie and a real sweetheart.
Meanwhile back in downtown Kokomo the boys were having a secret midnight meeting.
"Just who is Clara Ann Rishii anyway?" Sage mused to himself as Rowen sat with his back to the group, watching the stars.
"She's not the Chiclaria I knew. The old Chiclaria never had any trouble accepting what she was." Rowen said sullenly.
"But the Chiclaria we knew never had to deal with such problems as Clara has." Ryo said defensively as Cye came into the apartment unnoticed.
"If you ask me I think Clara has more problems than we know of." Cye said sadly as he set his duffel bag down on the twin bed. "I feel sorry for the poor girl, she's been through so much already. I know it may be hard to believe but deep down she is still Chiclaria, Clara just doesn't know it yet."
"That's right!" Kento chimed in eagerly, "She deserves more credit than we're giving her right now I'll tell you that much. She deserves to have friends like us to help her through these dark times."
"Uhh…Clara's in trouble…hospital." Cye murmured softly as a sudden tremendous pain shot through him and he saw a monster, like the one from earlier that day, preparing to attack Clara and he fell to his knees.
"Cye, are you all right?" Sage asked as he went to his friend's side.
"I'll be fine," he whispered softly as he struggled to remain standing, "just help Clara."
"I'll stay with Cye," Kento volunteered as he stepped forward and the rest of the boys powered up into their armors and got ready to leave, "we'll catch up shortly."
Back at the hospital, Clara was having a bad dream:
"The sea is so beautiful Shin look." The sky blue haired little girl said as she looked at the ever-peaceful sea.
"Yeah I see. Oh look over there, there's a dolphin." The strawberry haired blonde said cheerfully as he pointed to a dolphin leaping through the air. "Some people believe that dolphins are actually smarter people."
Suddenly out of the blue, a huge wave rushed at the boat washing the little girl overboard. The girl tried to swim back to the boat but the wave only carried her further out to sea.
"Claria no!! Come back!" the little boy cried as he tried to go after his twin to be held back by his mother and father.
"No…Shin no!!" thunder boomed next to Clara's window as she sat up panting for breath. "It was only a dream," she said softly to herself as she got up to get a glass of ice water, "or was it? Could it be a memory? It was so real it had to be a memory."
Carefully she checked her face for any infections and satisfied with what she saw turned around to shuffle across the room to her bed when she heard something run by. Quickly she found the light switch and turned the lights on then wished she hadn't. A black panther stood before her, growling softly as it paced back and forth.
"Nice kitty." She said as she held out her hand towards the panther's wet silky nose. "I won't hurt you."
Slowly the panther inched closer to her until she could feel it's hot warm breath against her hand and did something that took her by surprise.
It licked her hand and began speaking as Ryo, Sage, and Rowen burst into her room.
"My name is Tiakall and Clara Ann Rishii surely by now you are different from other people, special. You spend your days and nights trying to figure that you already know; you are the one meant to help save this world from the darkness that now threatens." Here it paused briefly as Cye, Kento, and Kayla breathlessly appeared in her door then turned it's crystal blue eyes back towards Clara's silver ones.
"I…I don't understand. Why me?" she asked wide-eyed as she gestured to the boys than to herself. "They're the heroes not me, I'm just a lowly android. I'm not special."
"Oh, but you are special!" Tiakall growled softly as she nuzzled Clara's hand and purred softly. "You are one of the few surviving members of the Sacred Guardians; a beautiful and yet powerful race of angelic like beings chosen to guard the universe." As the panther spoke, the room around them disappeared and they found themselves in deep outer space;
"The Sacred Guardians came into existence 5 million years ago when the galaxies were brand new and helpless. They were a proud solemn race that watched over the galaxies and protected them from invasion. Then 1 million years after their creation, all the males suddenly became very sick and died leaving the women alone by themselves. It was a difficult time for them as they had to evolve to be able to produce a daughter every hundred years, but all was not well. For a similar sickness plagued the woman as well and most became sterile before they died and their children were stillborn. It seemed all hope was lost as one by one the proud race fell ever closer to extinction, but there was still hope. For the oldest guardian had somehow been unaffected by the mysterious illness, and managed to give birth to her last daughter. As her daughter hovered next to her mother shivering for warmth and comfort and still just a star, her dying mother called for help, "Please male guardians hear me wherever you are. If any are still alive, send to me your youngest and bravest warriors so that they may guard our last daughter." And she waited…and waited…and waited…but none came. As if aware of the grave situation at hand, the young star trembled and began to cry softly when suddenly a voice was heard "Please don't cry little one. I'm the 'Guardian of Wildfire' sent here to protect you. I will always be at your side." The eldest guardian smiled in relief, one guardian was better than none. But what was this? Another star was slowly approaching them; this one was a bright green and pulsed with a gentle rhythm that calmed the crying young star. "I am the 'Guardian of Halo sent from the nearest sun to protect you. I'll always be at your side young one." Two guardians were better than one and far better than none. Would any more come? Only time would tell, so they waited and waited and waited some more. Then suddenly not one but two stars, one a brilliant sea blue and one a deep orange, suddenly darted through the heavens toward them, playfully chasing each other and both were unaware of the others until the dark orange star bumped into the new young star who'd just settled down to sleep. "Look at what you just did! You just woke her up!! You should be ashamed of yourself!" the ocean blue star scolded the orange star, which hung just behind it, sulking. "I'm so sorry about that, please forgive my friend Hardrock. He's always been this way. I am the 'Guardian of Torrent' and my friend here is the 'Guardian of Hardrock'." "Uh, sorry about bumping into you. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." The young star said nothing in return, but blushed and smiled shyly as they waited for the next guardian to arrive. So they waited…and waited…and waited…and waited…and waited…but none came. The eldest guardian was preparing to send them off when suddenly a dark blue orb darted towards them and bowed before the queen, "I'm sorry I'm late. I just got here and I'm the last one to come. Because I hail from the farthest edge of our galaxy they call me the 'Guardian of Strata'. I'm here for you starlet." Then for the first time, the young princess of the guardians spoke softly and pulsed with a silver light, "Thank you for coming to protect me Wildfire, Halo, Torrent, Hardrock, and Strata." Then the queen looked at the six nestled together and smiled warmly, "Now my children the time has come for you to be sent to Earth, our most precious planet to guard the last princess of the guardians. You will find that the people on earth fight with and hurt each other without reason. It is your duty as princess to deliver the message of peace, hope, and love to them and help heal the wounds in their land. I love you all, farewell." And with that the queen of the guardians died as she sent her children off into the world."
As Tiakall finished speaking, the stars and galaxy surrounding them disappeared as the room slowly came back into view and everyone stood there in a daze
"So what ever happened to the princess and her guardians?" Kento asked innocently as Cye whacked him on the head. "OW!! What was that for?!"
"Weren't you paying attention to anything Tiakall just said? I'm sorry you'll have to forgive my friend here, he's an idiot." Cye said as Kento grabbed him in a headlock and rubbed his head playfully.
"Wait so let me get this straight, I'm the last princess of the Sacred Guardians?" Clara said as she paced back and forth across the room.
"Exactly." Tiakall said with a firm nod.
"No way! I'm sorry but you've got the wrong girl. I am not a princess." Clara insisted as Tiakall approached her once more.
"But you are, and here is the locket that was to be given to you when the time was right." Tiakall said softly as a necklace appeared in the panther's jaw.
Slowly, Clara reached out and touched it and as she did so lettering and kanji suddenly appeared on the locket as well as her forehead. As she looked at her reflection trying to figure out what it said, she suddenly remembered the necklace and looked at it. It was a simple gold star, which hung on a thin silver chain, with kanji that read:
Hope