Carolyn's Comments:

Mood: Calm

Rant: Tired. Too tired to rant. Enjoy chappie.

The two boys bolted up the countless flights of stairs. Earlier, he never would've found the strength to run so far so fast, but now he felt he could run twice as far. He was going to save them both. Jade…and Milla. He already loved Jade as his daughter and she didn't even exist yet. And he cared about Milla more than spoken or written words could ever describe.

The two young heroes came to a stop outside the doors that led to Tal's throne room.

"Hey, Tal?" Crow asked.

"Yeah?"

"You know…he's right on the other side of this door."

"I know."

"We might not be able to defeat him you know. Even if we do, one of us is probably going to die. And if it's you, I want to get your blessing with something first."

Tal frowned and stared at his friend with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Crow took a deep breath and blurted it out. "I'm…I'm in love with Jade."

Tal's eyes widened in surprise. But at the same time he wasn't very surprised. He smiled. "And you want to know if it's okay with me, right?"

Crow nodded. "Yeah…well, seeing as she's your kid and all."

Tal grinned. "It's fine with me. If she was going to wind up with someone, I'd prefer it to be you, instead of anyone like Virus."

Crow smiled weakly. "Thanks pal. And, if I'm the one who kicks the bucket…tell Jade for me, will you?"

Tal's face became serious. "Don't be stupid Crow. You'll tell her yourself."

Crow nodded. "Yeah, but…just in case…let her know…please…"

Tal gripped his friend's shoulder. "Alright. I will. I swear."

Crow smiled. "Thanks." He took a deep breath and straightened up. "Well, I reckon we should go get it over with."

Tal nodded. "Right. Let's go." He gripped his Sunstone tightly.

Crow and Tal kicked down the door. Virus was inside smiling smugly. He was stretched out lazily on Tal's throne.

"So you two finally decided to show your faces. I'm surprised you didn't go running off like cowards with your tails between your legs."

"You shut up!" Crow shouted angrily. He hated Virus more than anything at that moment. Not just because Virus was responsible for his clan member's deaths, but also because at one point, Jade had loved this monster more than anyone else in the world. And the thought of Jade with someone else, especially this fiend, filled him with anger.

"Where's Milla?!" Tal demanded. "What have you done with her?!"

Virus chuckled. "Use your eyes, fool." He gestured to the side. Tal finally noticed then. Milla lay sprawled out on the floor. A glowing cage made of black light surrounded her. Jade was on the floor several feet from her. A cage also surrounded her.

"MILLA! JADE!" Tal screamed. He started forward, but Virus's harsh laugh interrupted him.

"Don't even bother!" Virus laughed springing to his feet. "Those barriers surrounding them are impenetrable. Now then, Emperor Tal, let's play a little game, shall we? You pick one, and I'll pick one."

"WHAT?!" Tal shouted in horror.

"You can have one of them back," Virus explained calmly. He sounded almost sane now. "You can't take both of them back, but I'll let you have one. The other comes with me. What say you?"

Tal shook his head. "I can't. You can have me in exchange for the other one."

Virus shook his head. "No. You're Jade's father. No deal."

"But-"

"I don't want you!" Virus spat nastily. "I can't kill you, it solves nothing for me!"

"Why can't you kill me?" Tal asked, "I thought you hated me."

"I do." Virus hissed. "But if I kill you now, Jade will never be born! I love this girl more than life itself! But you made it so I couldn't even be near her! So that's why I came back here. Not only to retrieve Jade, but to make you suffer. I can't kill you, but I can burn everything that's good in your life!"

"Then why involve Milla in this?!" Tal demanded. "Let her go! She's got nothing to do with any of this!"

Virus smiled a twisted smile. "You still haven't figured it out yet? My God, you ARE stupid."

"What?!" Tal yelled. "What's stupid?!"

Virus laughed. "You fool! In the future, MILLA is your wife! She's Jade's mother!"

That hit Tal like multiple slaps to the face. That explained everything…why Milla and Jade got along so well, why Jade hadn't told him about her mother, and why she and Milla looked almost alike.

"Idiocy." Virus sneered, "Sheer idiocy!" He pointed towards Jade and Milla. "Pick one Tal! Choose Jade! She's your daughter! Oh wait! What about Milla? She's your wife!" He laughed hysterically. "Pick one Tal. And pick carefully. The one that isn't picked will DIE!"

Tal's eyes darted back and forth between Milla and Jade. What could he do? He loved Milla, but he couldn't let Jade die! But as he weighed his options he came to a realization. If Milla died, Jade would never be born. That would be the same as killing her. At that moment, Tal was forced to make the hardest decision of his entire life.

"Milla." He whispered, choking back tears.

The cage around Milla instantly vanished. Tal and Crow sprinted to her side. As they did so, the cage around Jade vanished as well. Crow started towards her, but Virus got there first. He grabbed Jade and slung her over his shoulder. He then bolted up the flight of stairs that led to the roof of the Violet Tower.

"Damnit." Crow whispered clenching his fist.

Tal cradled Milla's unconscious figure in his arms. In an almost unconscious move, he reached up with his left hand and caressed the side of her face. He'd always looked upon Milla as a true warrior: strong, brave, and intelligent. Now he had a new adjective for her: beautiful.

She stirred slightly. Her eyes cracked open and he quickly drew his hand away from her.

"Tal?" She whispered. She tilted her head up and saw Crow, who was silently cursing himself for not being quick enough to save Jade. "Crow? What's going on? Where's Jade? And Virus?"

"Virus took Jade up to the top of the tower." Crow said flatly. He stood up. "I'm going after them."

"NO!" Tal snapped, "I'm going! She's my daughter! You stay here and watch Milla!"

"Tal! You can't be serious!"

"I am serious! You heard Virus back there; he can't kill me! But nothing's stopping him from killing you! Only I can save Jade!"

Crow secretly knew Tal was right, but God help him if he was going to admit it. "But…"

"Crow!" Tal barked. "If you try to go up there, I'll revoke my blessing!"

That shut Crow up pretty quickly. Milla frowned and stared at Tal in confusion. "What blessing? What's going on-"

She was cut off. Tal leaned forward and kissed her on the mouth. For a moment, she was stunned, then she finally responded and kissed him back. He pulled back and looked her in the eye. "I'm going to save our daughter now." He whispered.

He released Milla and stood up. "Explain everything to her. I'll be back with Jade in a few minutes." He said, sounding more sure than he felt. He hurried up the stairs, before they could try to stop him.

"…They will come back," Milla whispered. She touched her lips where Tal had kissed her. "Won't they?"

Tal stood in the rain outside. Virus stood there with his arms crossed across his chest. Jade lay on the ground about a foot from him. She was still unconscious.

"I see you insisted on following me yet again." Virus sighed. "It's just as well. I'd prefer it if you saw the little show."

"What show?" Tal hissed. He was now completely convinced. Virus was crazy. Losing Jade had destroyed his mind.

"It won't matter if Jade dies here." Virus smirked. "When I go back to my own time period, she'll still be alive. But you'll feel all the pain of losing her. Then she'll be born to you, you'll try to separate us, and I'll kill you. And that's how your pathetic story ends." He chuckled. "A lovely little timeless circle of death and blood." He smiled coldly. "Yes…that will be good. It'll torment you so much that you'll want to die. But you won't be able to, because if you die she won't ever exist! And you'll lose her anyway and I'll win in the end!" He smiled gleefully. "Yes…I love that plan. I think that's what I'll do…"

"What?" Tal asked frowning. His heart was filled with dread.

Just then, Jade stirred softly. Her green eyes cracked open. Virus knelt down and lifted her off the ground with one hand. His other hand gripped his sword.

"Virus?" She murmured weakly.

Virus smiled a pained smiled. "I'm sorry Jade. But I'll see you again back in our own time."

He leaned down and kissed her again. Tal would've bolted forward and stopped him, but he was paralyzed with horror. Because at the exact same time that he kissed her, Virus had taken his sword, and plunged it right into Jade's stomach!

Carolyn's Comments: (dances) CLIFFHANGER!