"Dinner was delicious, thank you," Opera warmly thanked Westa as she seated herself in a chair by the fireplace.
"Oh, you're quite welcome," Westa returned her thanks and then left Opera and Rena alone by the fire to talk.
"I'm happy you've come to Expel, Opera," Rena told her friend. "I could really use a friend right now."
"Its terrible what happened to Claude," Opera said as she recalled what Westa had told her about what happened to Claude.
Rena looked deep into the heart of the fire, and felt a burning desire to be with Claude as she tried to push away reality. But the tears of sorrow came anyway.
Opera placed a reassuring hand on Rena's shoulder. "I'm so sorry for you, Rena, especially since this is the time when the baby could come at any moment."
Rena placed her hands on her belly, and thought about Claude.
"But I must say, you did pretty well," Opera slyly grinned.
Rena looked up into Opera's face, searching for the meaning of what she had said.
Opera laughed. "What I mean is you and Claude. During the Sorcery Globe investigation, I saw how close you two were becoming, and I knew that it would only be a matter of time before you would take the step and make the commitment to spend the rest of your lives together. You are such a nice couple - so in love too. Its a shame that Claude was taken. But I'm sure he's alright. He can take care of himself, don't worry."
Rena quickly wiped away her tears. "You're right. I should have more faith in him." But Rena still couldn't hold back the tears. "But I don't know if he's dead or if he'll ever come back!"
"Don't ever say that! I know he's alive!"
"How can you be so sure?" Rena mumbled between tears.
Opera took a deep breath. "Because I saw the ship that your mother told me that you saw."
"What!?" Rena demanded. "Why didn't you tell me before!?"
"I wasn't sure what your mother would say."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if this is the ship that Claude is on, I know that you'll want to go up there to get him back. But in your condition.......Westa would never allow you to go."
"Where is the ship?" Rena eagerly asked.
"Well, when Zack and I approached Expel in the rocket, I remember Zack pointing to a black spaceship that hovered in space just outside of Expel's atmosphere. He kept on telling me about it that I finally turned to look at it. On its side was the crest of the Earth Federation. And then when Westa described the ship to me as you had told her, I knew that it was the same ship," Opera reluctantly told her.
"We must go and get him!" Rena stood up from her chair. "We can go in your rocket ship! We have to!"
"Rena!" Opera regretted telling her of what she saw. "Be reasonable! You can't go now! You're heavy with child and almost near the time of its birth!"
"Opera! Please,.........understand. I have to be with Claude when this child comes. We started this together, and we will be together when it comes. Please! You must understand. I have to be with him......" Rena sat on the floor beside the fireplace and began weeping.
Opera went and sat with her. "Yes, Rena, I understand."
Rena turned and looked up into Opera's eyes to see if she spoke the truth. Rena didn't see any hint of a lie in any of Opera's three eyes.
"We can go to the ship in my spacecraft," Opera solemnly nodded.
Rena gave Opera a strong hug. "Thank you, Opera."
"I'll have to repair my ship. It only carries two passengers, so Zack will have to stay behind. Anyways, I think that it would be safer if he stayed here, on Expel." Opera stood up. "I can probably prepare the ship and be ready to go tomorrow. But I won't take you unless you ask Westa first." Opera turned to leave the room.
Rena got up to go with Opera. "I'll go ask mother now."
"I'll tell Zack, and then go to the forest to fix the rocket. Zack isn't going to be too happy about having to miss the Lacour Tournament of Arms." Opera opened the room door, and the two young women left the room.
*******
"........Rena, are you absolutely sure that you have to do this?" Westa worriedly asked as she walked behind her daughter through the Shingo Forest.
Rena just quickened her pace.
"Please, slow down, Rena," Mayor Regis grasped Rena gently by the arm.
"I must get to Claude as soon as possible," Rena shook away from Mayor Regis's grip and continued to walk quickly towards the clearing in the forest where Opera's rocket waited.
"Rena, please!" Westa stopped dead in her tracks and shouted angrily.
Rena stopped, then slowly turned around to face her mother.
Westa approached her daughter, "Rena, dear, you know that I would permit you to go off to find Claude. But because of your condition, and the fact that you have been ill these past weeks, I beg you to reconsider! Wouldn't you see that your health should come first?" Westa pleaded.
"Of course, Mother," Rena reassured her, "my health would always come before any risk that I would take. But I must do this! Don't you understand? I have to be with Claude when this child comes!" Rena stamped her foot as she angrily shouted the words.
"We understand, Rena," Mayor Regis defended Westa, "But we are concerned for you. Just because you accomplished your quest for the Sorcery Globe doesn't mean that this task will have luck on your side. The Sorcery Globe quest was different. You were very healthy, traveled in a large party of people that had many skills and talents to help, and friendly people assisted you as you ventured from town to town. This journey you're about to take is a risk. You are going to have a baby any day now, you have been ill these past few weeks, you are only with Opera this time, and you don't know how the people outside of Expel will treat you. You must realize that this task is no simple feat, but a life-threatening endeavour," Mayor Regis consoled Rena.
"I'm afraid they're right, Rena," Opera piped up, "I have to agree with them."
Rena fell to her knees. "Nobody understands," and she began to quietly sob.
Zack, who had been holding Opera's hand as they walked, released from his uncle's girlfriend's grip and approached Rena. Sitting down beside her, he admitted, "I understand you, pretty lady."
Rena looked down to the ground.
"Grown-ups don't understand you, but I do. And so would Claude. But he probably wouldn't want you to do this either."
Rena slowly nodded her head in agreement, but continued to cry.
"Grown-ups don't understand you because they don't know Claude like you do," Zack continued.
Rena took her gaze away from the earth and looked into Zack's innocent eyes.
"You know Claude better than anyone because you and Claude are in love," Zack explained. "They don't have the exact same feelings for Claude as you do. Nobody understands that love because it goes really deep and ties your souls. The grown-ups can never understand that. And because of that, they don't understand that you need to do this. You have to be with Claude when this baby comes. You have to because its a very important event in your lives. I think grown-ups should understand you, because they have these feelings with different people. But because this trip of yours is a threat, they don't allow that understanding to surface and tell you all the bad things that can happen. But you are determined, and I understand what you mean and that this is something you have to do."
"Why does no one else except you understand that love, Zack?" Rena asked.
"Because I'm a kid!" Zack grinned and gave Rena a reassuring hug.
Then Zack got up and grasped Westa's hand. "Your mommy has a different kind of love for you," Zack told Rena. "She has mudderly love for you."
"I think you mean 'motherly love', Zack," Rena chuckled between tears.
"Yeah, well, it's different because it makes her worry about you all the time. But it's stronger for her because you're her only child," Zack explained.
"That's right," Westa agreed. She knelt down beside Rena and gave her a very strong hug. "I always worry about you. But I am more worried this time because I fear for your life," and Westa broke down and cried.
Rena returned her mother's hug. "Please don't cry. I am an adult now, and can take care of myself. But I would always acknowledge your concerns first before I take any risks. It's just that in this situation, I have a very strong feeling that this is the right thing to do, and that I must do it," Rena looked up at the sky, as if Claude were looking down at her and approving her decision.
"Yes, you're right," Westa got up and helped her daughter stand up as well. "I just can't help thinking about all the dangers that might be waiting for you out there beyond the safety of Expel."
Rena solemnly nodded her head in agreement.
"We cannot stop you from going," Mayor Regis began, "it's entirely your choice, Rena."
"Yes," Rena agreed, then turned and began walking towards the spaceship once more.
Once they reached the clearing, Opera made some final adjustments on the spacecraft while Rena bade tearful goodbyes.
After hugging and promising that she'd return to her mother, Rena approached Mayor Regis.
Mayor Regis handed Rena a leather pouch. "There are some herbs from the doctor to help with any pains you have from the child."
Rena reached into the pouch. Her hands touched the ragged edges of leaves, the downy veins of roots, and the soft petals of flowers: the herbs. But then her fingers felt something else. A smooth object, one end of which was cylindrical in shape, and the other a sort of box, formed to fit her hand. Grasping the item, Rena began to pull it out of the pouch, to see it better, and in her hand it felt heavy, and had some sort of a trigger on it that could be pulled.
When she had the object out in the daylight, Rena gasped. The item was silver in colour, and a glowing green gem was set into the box end of it. It appeared to be a gun, something that Claude had told Rena he used when training in the Earth Federation.
"Please be careful with that," Mayor Regis suddenly said.
"What is it?" Rena marveled.
"That glowing gem that is set into the grip is the remainder of the LEA metal that was used to construct your weapons for your final battle between the Ten Wise Men," Mayor Regis explained.
"What!?" Rena gasped.
"Those three years ago, when you returned from your quest of the Sorcery Globe, you and Claude had told us the whole story of what happened on your journey. Also, when you returned, you brought with you the weapons you had told me that Dr. Mirage of Armlock on Energy Nede had constructed for you to use in your final battle with the Ten Wise Men. The mineral used in the weapons was unique and rare. By the time I realized what purpose the minerals could be used for, all the weapons except your gloves had lost their powers. I preserved your weapon, having some gut feeling that the mineral would be needed in the future. When Claude was taken, I felt that there would be only one way for Claude to survive -- by having a weapon made of that preserved LEA metal. I took the mineral to Graft Newmann, the great mechanist in Linga, and had him construct a unique weapon which would assist Claude. He constructed what in now in your hands. He told me that it has great power, and is dangerous when placed in the wrong hands. Rena, when you finally find Claude, I advise you to give him this weapon, and he can use it in defeating whatever dangers that meet him," Mayor Regis instructed Rena.
"What is it called?" Rena gazed at its beauty.
"Graft Newmann dubbed it, Holy Twin, though I'm not sure why. He told me that the name foreshadows Claude's future, but I didn't understand him."
"Thank you, Mayor Regis. I will be careful and present the Holy Twin to Claude when I find him," Rena tenderly placed the weapon back in her pouch, then gave Mayor Regis a hug.
Opera approached Rena from behind. "We're ready to go," she said. "Has anyone seen Zack?"
"Here I am!" Zack jumped out from his hiding place behind a bush.
"Oh, Zack!" Opera laughed. She knelt down to the ground and Zack rushed into her arms in a warm embrace.
"I'm gonna miss you, Opera," Zack began to cry.
"Oh, I'm sorry I couldn't take you to the Lacour Tournament of Arms, Zack," Opera apologized.
"Don't worry about that," Zack smiled up at her between tears. "Next year, I'll make Uncle Ernest come with us as well! Besides, I've been having lots of fun here in Arlia! This boy Lucia showed me how to make a sailboat like his and he and I are going to have a race on the river with them today!" Zack cheerfully explained.
"Well, I'm glad you made a new friend," Opera smiled. "Don't worry, I"ll come back soon, and Rena and I will bring Claude back with us."
"I'm really gonna miss you," Zack gave Opera a very strong hug before releasing from her grip. He then stepped down to the ground and approached Rena.
Zack looked up at Rena, "Don't have the baby while you're gone," Zack told her, "I want to see it when you have it."
Rena crouched down to the ground at his level. "I'll try and make sure that I come back to Expel before it is born, but I can't make any promises. The baby will come when it is ready, and I don't know when it will be ready. I'll just have to wait and see."
"Oh, okay," Zack agreed. "Oh! I almost forgot!" Zack's hand dove into his pocket, and searched for something. When his hand reappeared, he had a crumpled up cloth object in it. "When Lucia and I were picking flowers in the Shingo Forest yesterday, I found this," Zack reached up to give the item to Rena.
Rena took the object from Zack and uncrumpled it. She gasped once she realized what it was.
"Lucia told me that it belonged to Claude, so I thought I should give it to you so you can give it back to him," Zack explained.
Rena gently stroked the worn fabric of the glove in her hands. It did indeed belong to Claude, and a badge on it had a crest with the words 'Earth Federation' on it. Just touching it made Rena feel close to Claude, and convinced her that he was still alive. "He must have lost it during the struggle," Rena whispered to herself as she put the single glove on her left hand, the hand it was designed to fit. Then Rena knelt down to Zack, "Thank you, Zack," she hugged the three-year-old. "I'll miss you when I'm gone, but I promise to return, and when I do, you will be able to meet my baby."
"Okay," Zack agreed. He returned Rena's hug, then went and hugged Opera again.
One last time, Rena turned and hugged her mother, then Mayor Regis. Then she turned and told Opera, "We'd better go now."
Opera took Rena's pouch and placed it in the spacecraft. Then she helped Rena get into the ship.
As Opera was getting into the rocket, Rena looked out and at her mother and Mayor Regis. Westa as crying, but smiled as she waved goodbye and good luck to her daughter. Rena tearfully waved back, but knew that she had to go through with this mission.
"All ready, Rena?" Opera asked as she flipped a switch in front of her. The rocket engines roared to life. "No regrets?"
"I'm sure," Rena sighed. "Let's go."
Opera pressed a red button, and the dome roof of the ship swung silently and slowly closed. She then flipped another switch. "Here we go!" Opera exclaimed.
Suddenly, the spacecraft lifted up off the ground, and slowly levitated up into the air.
Rena looked outside, at the people waving goodbye. Westa, Mayor Regis, and Zack stood there in the clearing, tearfully shouting good luck. The group grew smaller and smaller, and so did the Shingo Forest, as the starship hovered up into the morning sky.
Westa watched as the mass of metal, glass, and blazing fire flew away from the safety of Expel. She was afraid for Rena, but tried to have faith in her. Though she cried, she knew that her daughter would return -- Rena always kept a promise.
"Oh, you're quite welcome," Westa returned her thanks and then left Opera and Rena alone by the fire to talk.
"I'm happy you've come to Expel, Opera," Rena told her friend. "I could really use a friend right now."
"Its terrible what happened to Claude," Opera said as she recalled what Westa had told her about what happened to Claude.
Rena looked deep into the heart of the fire, and felt a burning desire to be with Claude as she tried to push away reality. But the tears of sorrow came anyway.
Opera placed a reassuring hand on Rena's shoulder. "I'm so sorry for you, Rena, especially since this is the time when the baby could come at any moment."
Rena placed her hands on her belly, and thought about Claude.
"But I must say, you did pretty well," Opera slyly grinned.
Rena looked up into Opera's face, searching for the meaning of what she had said.
Opera laughed. "What I mean is you and Claude. During the Sorcery Globe investigation, I saw how close you two were becoming, and I knew that it would only be a matter of time before you would take the step and make the commitment to spend the rest of your lives together. You are such a nice couple - so in love too. Its a shame that Claude was taken. But I'm sure he's alright. He can take care of himself, don't worry."
Rena quickly wiped away her tears. "You're right. I should have more faith in him." But Rena still couldn't hold back the tears. "But I don't know if he's dead or if he'll ever come back!"
"Don't ever say that! I know he's alive!"
"How can you be so sure?" Rena mumbled between tears.
Opera took a deep breath. "Because I saw the ship that your mother told me that you saw."
"What!?" Rena demanded. "Why didn't you tell me before!?"
"I wasn't sure what your mother would say."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if this is the ship that Claude is on, I know that you'll want to go up there to get him back. But in your condition.......Westa would never allow you to go."
"Where is the ship?" Rena eagerly asked.
"Well, when Zack and I approached Expel in the rocket, I remember Zack pointing to a black spaceship that hovered in space just outside of Expel's atmosphere. He kept on telling me about it that I finally turned to look at it. On its side was the crest of the Earth Federation. And then when Westa described the ship to me as you had told her, I knew that it was the same ship," Opera reluctantly told her.
"We must go and get him!" Rena stood up from her chair. "We can go in your rocket ship! We have to!"
"Rena!" Opera regretted telling her of what she saw. "Be reasonable! You can't go now! You're heavy with child and almost near the time of its birth!"
"Opera! Please,.........understand. I have to be with Claude when this child comes. We started this together, and we will be together when it comes. Please! You must understand. I have to be with him......" Rena sat on the floor beside the fireplace and began weeping.
Opera went and sat with her. "Yes, Rena, I understand."
Rena turned and looked up into Opera's eyes to see if she spoke the truth. Rena didn't see any hint of a lie in any of Opera's three eyes.
"We can go to the ship in my spacecraft," Opera solemnly nodded.
Rena gave Opera a strong hug. "Thank you, Opera."
"I'll have to repair my ship. It only carries two passengers, so Zack will have to stay behind. Anyways, I think that it would be safer if he stayed here, on Expel." Opera stood up. "I can probably prepare the ship and be ready to go tomorrow. But I won't take you unless you ask Westa first." Opera turned to leave the room.
Rena got up to go with Opera. "I'll go ask mother now."
"I'll tell Zack, and then go to the forest to fix the rocket. Zack isn't going to be too happy about having to miss the Lacour Tournament of Arms." Opera opened the room door, and the two young women left the room.
*******
"........Rena, are you absolutely sure that you have to do this?" Westa worriedly asked as she walked behind her daughter through the Shingo Forest.
Rena just quickened her pace.
"Please, slow down, Rena," Mayor Regis grasped Rena gently by the arm.
"I must get to Claude as soon as possible," Rena shook away from Mayor Regis's grip and continued to walk quickly towards the clearing in the forest where Opera's rocket waited.
"Rena, please!" Westa stopped dead in her tracks and shouted angrily.
Rena stopped, then slowly turned around to face her mother.
Westa approached her daughter, "Rena, dear, you know that I would permit you to go off to find Claude. But because of your condition, and the fact that you have been ill these past weeks, I beg you to reconsider! Wouldn't you see that your health should come first?" Westa pleaded.
"Of course, Mother," Rena reassured her, "my health would always come before any risk that I would take. But I must do this! Don't you understand? I have to be with Claude when this child comes!" Rena stamped her foot as she angrily shouted the words.
"We understand, Rena," Mayor Regis defended Westa, "But we are concerned for you. Just because you accomplished your quest for the Sorcery Globe doesn't mean that this task will have luck on your side. The Sorcery Globe quest was different. You were very healthy, traveled in a large party of people that had many skills and talents to help, and friendly people assisted you as you ventured from town to town. This journey you're about to take is a risk. You are going to have a baby any day now, you have been ill these past few weeks, you are only with Opera this time, and you don't know how the people outside of Expel will treat you. You must realize that this task is no simple feat, but a life-threatening endeavour," Mayor Regis consoled Rena.
"I'm afraid they're right, Rena," Opera piped up, "I have to agree with them."
Rena fell to her knees. "Nobody understands," and she began to quietly sob.
Zack, who had been holding Opera's hand as they walked, released from his uncle's girlfriend's grip and approached Rena. Sitting down beside her, he admitted, "I understand you, pretty lady."
Rena looked down to the ground.
"Grown-ups don't understand you, but I do. And so would Claude. But he probably wouldn't want you to do this either."
Rena slowly nodded her head in agreement, but continued to cry.
"Grown-ups don't understand you because they don't know Claude like you do," Zack continued.
Rena took her gaze away from the earth and looked into Zack's innocent eyes.
"You know Claude better than anyone because you and Claude are in love," Zack explained. "They don't have the exact same feelings for Claude as you do. Nobody understands that love because it goes really deep and ties your souls. The grown-ups can never understand that. And because of that, they don't understand that you need to do this. You have to be with Claude when this baby comes. You have to because its a very important event in your lives. I think grown-ups should understand you, because they have these feelings with different people. But because this trip of yours is a threat, they don't allow that understanding to surface and tell you all the bad things that can happen. But you are determined, and I understand what you mean and that this is something you have to do."
"Why does no one else except you understand that love, Zack?" Rena asked.
"Because I'm a kid!" Zack grinned and gave Rena a reassuring hug.
Then Zack got up and grasped Westa's hand. "Your mommy has a different kind of love for you," Zack told Rena. "She has mudderly love for you."
"I think you mean 'motherly love', Zack," Rena chuckled between tears.
"Yeah, well, it's different because it makes her worry about you all the time. But it's stronger for her because you're her only child," Zack explained.
"That's right," Westa agreed. She knelt down beside Rena and gave her a very strong hug. "I always worry about you. But I am more worried this time because I fear for your life," and Westa broke down and cried.
Rena returned her mother's hug. "Please don't cry. I am an adult now, and can take care of myself. But I would always acknowledge your concerns first before I take any risks. It's just that in this situation, I have a very strong feeling that this is the right thing to do, and that I must do it," Rena looked up at the sky, as if Claude were looking down at her and approving her decision.
"Yes, you're right," Westa got up and helped her daughter stand up as well. "I just can't help thinking about all the dangers that might be waiting for you out there beyond the safety of Expel."
Rena solemnly nodded her head in agreement.
"We cannot stop you from going," Mayor Regis began, "it's entirely your choice, Rena."
"Yes," Rena agreed, then turned and began walking towards the spaceship once more.
Once they reached the clearing, Opera made some final adjustments on the spacecraft while Rena bade tearful goodbyes.
After hugging and promising that she'd return to her mother, Rena approached Mayor Regis.
Mayor Regis handed Rena a leather pouch. "There are some herbs from the doctor to help with any pains you have from the child."
Rena reached into the pouch. Her hands touched the ragged edges of leaves, the downy veins of roots, and the soft petals of flowers: the herbs. But then her fingers felt something else. A smooth object, one end of which was cylindrical in shape, and the other a sort of box, formed to fit her hand. Grasping the item, Rena began to pull it out of the pouch, to see it better, and in her hand it felt heavy, and had some sort of a trigger on it that could be pulled.
When she had the object out in the daylight, Rena gasped. The item was silver in colour, and a glowing green gem was set into the box end of it. It appeared to be a gun, something that Claude had told Rena he used when training in the Earth Federation.
"Please be careful with that," Mayor Regis suddenly said.
"What is it?" Rena marveled.
"That glowing gem that is set into the grip is the remainder of the LEA metal that was used to construct your weapons for your final battle between the Ten Wise Men," Mayor Regis explained.
"What!?" Rena gasped.
"Those three years ago, when you returned from your quest of the Sorcery Globe, you and Claude had told us the whole story of what happened on your journey. Also, when you returned, you brought with you the weapons you had told me that Dr. Mirage of Armlock on Energy Nede had constructed for you to use in your final battle with the Ten Wise Men. The mineral used in the weapons was unique and rare. By the time I realized what purpose the minerals could be used for, all the weapons except your gloves had lost their powers. I preserved your weapon, having some gut feeling that the mineral would be needed in the future. When Claude was taken, I felt that there would be only one way for Claude to survive -- by having a weapon made of that preserved LEA metal. I took the mineral to Graft Newmann, the great mechanist in Linga, and had him construct a unique weapon which would assist Claude. He constructed what in now in your hands. He told me that it has great power, and is dangerous when placed in the wrong hands. Rena, when you finally find Claude, I advise you to give him this weapon, and he can use it in defeating whatever dangers that meet him," Mayor Regis instructed Rena.
"What is it called?" Rena gazed at its beauty.
"Graft Newmann dubbed it, Holy Twin, though I'm not sure why. He told me that the name foreshadows Claude's future, but I didn't understand him."
"Thank you, Mayor Regis. I will be careful and present the Holy Twin to Claude when I find him," Rena tenderly placed the weapon back in her pouch, then gave Mayor Regis a hug.
Opera approached Rena from behind. "We're ready to go," she said. "Has anyone seen Zack?"
"Here I am!" Zack jumped out from his hiding place behind a bush.
"Oh, Zack!" Opera laughed. She knelt down to the ground and Zack rushed into her arms in a warm embrace.
"I'm gonna miss you, Opera," Zack began to cry.
"Oh, I'm sorry I couldn't take you to the Lacour Tournament of Arms, Zack," Opera apologized.
"Don't worry about that," Zack smiled up at her between tears. "Next year, I'll make Uncle Ernest come with us as well! Besides, I've been having lots of fun here in Arlia! This boy Lucia showed me how to make a sailboat like his and he and I are going to have a race on the river with them today!" Zack cheerfully explained.
"Well, I'm glad you made a new friend," Opera smiled. "Don't worry, I"ll come back soon, and Rena and I will bring Claude back with us."
"I'm really gonna miss you," Zack gave Opera a very strong hug before releasing from her grip. He then stepped down to the ground and approached Rena.
Zack looked up at Rena, "Don't have the baby while you're gone," Zack told her, "I want to see it when you have it."
Rena crouched down to the ground at his level. "I'll try and make sure that I come back to Expel before it is born, but I can't make any promises. The baby will come when it is ready, and I don't know when it will be ready. I'll just have to wait and see."
"Oh, okay," Zack agreed. "Oh! I almost forgot!" Zack's hand dove into his pocket, and searched for something. When his hand reappeared, he had a crumpled up cloth object in it. "When Lucia and I were picking flowers in the Shingo Forest yesterday, I found this," Zack reached up to give the item to Rena.
Rena took the object from Zack and uncrumpled it. She gasped once she realized what it was.
"Lucia told me that it belonged to Claude, so I thought I should give it to you so you can give it back to him," Zack explained.
Rena gently stroked the worn fabric of the glove in her hands. It did indeed belong to Claude, and a badge on it had a crest with the words 'Earth Federation' on it. Just touching it made Rena feel close to Claude, and convinced her that he was still alive. "He must have lost it during the struggle," Rena whispered to herself as she put the single glove on her left hand, the hand it was designed to fit. Then Rena knelt down to Zack, "Thank you, Zack," she hugged the three-year-old. "I'll miss you when I'm gone, but I promise to return, and when I do, you will be able to meet my baby."
"Okay," Zack agreed. He returned Rena's hug, then went and hugged Opera again.
One last time, Rena turned and hugged her mother, then Mayor Regis. Then she turned and told Opera, "We'd better go now."
Opera took Rena's pouch and placed it in the spacecraft. Then she helped Rena get into the ship.
As Opera was getting into the rocket, Rena looked out and at her mother and Mayor Regis. Westa as crying, but smiled as she waved goodbye and good luck to her daughter. Rena tearfully waved back, but knew that she had to go through with this mission.
"All ready, Rena?" Opera asked as she flipped a switch in front of her. The rocket engines roared to life. "No regrets?"
"I'm sure," Rena sighed. "Let's go."
Opera pressed a red button, and the dome roof of the ship swung silently and slowly closed. She then flipped another switch. "Here we go!" Opera exclaimed.
Suddenly, the spacecraft lifted up off the ground, and slowly levitated up into the air.
Rena looked outside, at the people waving goodbye. Westa, Mayor Regis, and Zack stood there in the clearing, tearfully shouting good luck. The group grew smaller and smaller, and so did the Shingo Forest, as the starship hovered up into the morning sky.
Westa watched as the mass of metal, glass, and blazing fire flew away from the safety of Expel. She was afraid for Rena, but tried to have faith in her. Though she cried, she knew that her daughter would return -- Rena always kept a promise.