There were no problems in getting back and everything seemed to be peaceful
for the time being. "Where are you going?" Moonbay asked when she saw Van
walking towards the exit of the base. Van was slightly surprised since he
didn't notice her. "He turned around and smiled at her. "I need to take
care of something. Can you look after Fiona and Kristi while I am gone?"
asked Van as nicely as possible. "You aren't planning on doing anything
stupid again are you?" asked Moonbay as she looked at him. "No. I learned
my lesson after the last time. I just need to head into town. I should be
back in a few hours," said Van. He then walked away without letting her say
another word. 'He seemed kind of nervous about something. I wonder what is
up,' she thought to herself. "Oh well none of my concern, and I am pretty
sure that he isn't going to try anything again," said Moonbay as she walked
into the opposite direction. "Now. I wonder where Irvine has gone to," said
Moonbay as a smirk formed across her face.
The blade liger soared across the desert sands with its amazing speeds heading for the town that was nearby. "Fiona has been so down recently. I know it is from what happened at the festival but I wish that there was a way to cheer her up," said Van while keeping an eye on the desert in front of him. 'This is bound to cheer her up. At least I hope that it is,' thought Van. He saw the outline of the town coming up over the horizon. "I hope that this will help her," he said as the blade liger came to a stop just outside of the town.
"Mommy are you ok?" asked Kristi in her usual sweet voice. "Yeah, I am," said Fiona. The truth was that she had been thinking of something very important. Something that she had been thinking about over the past week in her head, attempting to help make it easier for her to do when the time comes. 'This may be one of the hardest thing I will ever have to do. Probably just as hard as leaving all those years ago, and maybe even harder,' thought Fiona.
Getting back into the blade liger, Van had a huge smile across his face. 'I can't wait to do this and see the look on her face,' thought Van as he continued to smile. He got the blade liger started and moved it out. "I will do this tonight. It will have to be prefect though,' he thought as he headed back towards the base.
"Hey Van, what do you have there?" asked Thomas seeing Van as he carried something as well as seeming very paranoid at the moment. "Something? I don't have anything," said Van as he tried to move away. "What about that thing behind your back?" asked Thomas trying to see behind him but Van just moved so he couldn't see. "I don't have anything behind my back," said Van as he made a mad dash towards his room. Upon reaching the safety of it he immediately fell onto the bed. "Oh man. I thought that I might not get away with it," he said as he sighed in relief. 'I have one question moron. Do you actually think that you are ready to try this?' asked a little voice in his head. "I hope I am," said Van as he just stared at the ceiling. He looked outside his window and noticed that it was already dark outside. "My how time flies," said Van as he wondered where all the time went. He stood up from his bed and placed something in his back pocket and walked towards the door. "Here goes nothing," said Van as he stepped out of his room.
Fiona sat in her staring at her mirror when she heard a soft knock on her door. "Who's there?" asked Fiona not even looking towards the door. "It's me," came Van's voice. Fiona's features seemed to darken when that was said. "Just a second," said Fiona as she took a deep breath and opened the door to reveal Van standing on the other side. "Something wrong?" asked Van seeing the look on Fiona's face. "I just haven't been sleeping well," said Fiona looking at the ground. "Thinking about the fact that they found out?" asked Van with as much kindness in his voice as he could possibly use. "That and other things," said Fiona not even looking up. "Like what?" asked Van. "It doesn't matter at the moment," said Fiona finally looking at Van. "Listen Van. There is something very important that I need to talk to you about," said Fiona as she once again found the floor very interesting.
"Just trust me about this," said Ashley with a grin as both her and Thomas hid behind a bunch of crates. "I am not so sure about all of this," said Thomas very cautiously. "What? Don't you trust me?" asked Ashley putting on her best smile. "It's not that. It's just that I am not sure about this," said Thomas. "Come on Mr. Serious. You need to lighten up a little," said Ashley with her brightest smile, "Besides we are only doing this to Irvine and Moonbay. Speak of the devils," said Ashley upon seeing them coming. "Just trust me about this," said Ashley as she held a string out to Thomas. He was hesitant at first but then took it. They both watched Irvine and Moonbay as they walked towards them.. They watched as the stopped right at a specified point. "Do it," yelled Ashley. Thomas almost didn't do it but for some reason he did. "Heads up," yelled Ashley to the unsuspecting Irvine and Moonbay. "What does she mean?" asked Irvine unsure of what to make by her statement. "I don't know," said Moonbay. A second later they did learn when a bunch of water balloons fell right on their heads. What made it worse was that they were filled up with cold water. "COLD," yelled Moonbay as all the water balloons drenched her and Irvine. They looked over to see a hysterical Ashley and an amused Thomas. "I'll get you," yelled Moonbay as she charged towards the to faster than a lightning saix. "Run," yelled Ashley as both her and Thomas ran in separate direction from the enraged Irvine and Moonbay.
A number of minutes and a lot of yelling later, Moonbay walked down the halls going to her room to get changed. 'I don't believe them, but I must say that I am impressed that she was able to get Thomas to do something like that. He is too serious at times,' thought Moonbay. She then walked by Fiona's room and heard a discussion going on inside. Her curiosity got the better of her and she decided to listen in.
"What is it?" asked Van since Fiona had been really silent for the last few minutes. Fiona took a deep breath and spoke. "Van, I." said Fiona yet she couldn't get the words out. She took another deep breath and gave it another try. "Van, I want you to stop protecting me," said Fiona looking at the ground. Van was confused by what she was saying. "Huh?" asked Van. "Stop protecting me. I want you to focus more on protecting Kristi," said Fiona still looking at the floor. "But why?" asked Van. "I just want you to ok?" Fiona nearly yelled. Van was taken back by her sudden outburst. "I am going to protect you both," said Van. "No. if you protect us both then it will make it harder for you," said Fiona. "Fiona. Where is all of this coming from?" asked Van trying to look at her face. Fiona just turned out of his view. "Van, stop it! Stop it. I don't want you to because I don't feel safe around you right now," yelled Fiona. 'Liar,' her mind screamed at her. Fiona really hated to do this but to her it had to be done. Van was hurt by what she said. "You don't mean that do you?" asked Van. Fiona took a deep breath and continued. "Yes I do. That is also one of the reason I left. I don't love you Van, and I never will," said Fiona as she felt tears start to come up at her own words but she held them back. She felt like she was about to break down and cry. She also had the urge to tell him it was all a lie and that she didn't mean any of it. The look on Van's face just made it all worse. The pained look on his face just made her heart shatter. He then turned around and started to walk towards the door. "Then does that mean that all that has happened to us was just a mistake?" asked Van in quiet voice to show his hurt. Fiona didn't respond to him. 'Don't do this,' her mind yelled at her again. Van stood in front of the door and turned his head slightly to the side. "Stop toying with my heart," said Van as he opened the door and after nearly running into Moonbay ran down the halls away from the room.
Moonbay was stunned by Van's sudden sprint out of the room. Also by the fact that he looked like he was about to cry. 'What a thing for a grown man like him to do,' thought Moonbay. She looked into the still open door to the room to see Fiona still standing. However there was something different this time from when she was talking to Van. She appeared to be shaking and then the inevitable happened. She fell to her knees and let the tears that she had been holding back flow freely. "Why did you lie to him?" asked Moonbay not liking the sad state that Fiona was currently in. Fiona turned a teary face towards her friend. "I want him to protect only our daughter but he wouldn't he still wanted to protect me," said Fiona as more tears fell down her face. Now Moonbay was really starting to get annoyed. "She walked up to Fiona and got on her knees before Fiona. "Fiona. Forgive me," said Moonbay as she brought a hand back and slapped Fiona hard. Fiona held a hand to her cheek where Moonbay had slapped her and she was surprised. "Stop it Fiona! Stop trying to do what you think is best for everyone, and hurt yourself for doing this. I don't blame Van for what he said about you toying with his heart. You kept doing these things to him. like when you left all those years ago and now this. He cares for you deeply maybe even love you and you keep pushing him away. Well stop it. For once don't think about others and think about yourself," yelled Moonbay. "I can't. it is already too late for me to take it back," said Fiona as more tears formed. Moonbay stood up and started to walk towards the door. "Stop denying yourself the life I know that you wanted before all of this. You have changed and it is not for the better," said Moonbay as she walked out of the room leaving Fiona alone. More tears came out just knowing what she did and what her own friend just did.
Moonbay turned and prepared to go to her room when something caught her eye. She didn't know what it was but she reached to pick it up. 'Van must have dropped it in his sudden departure,' thought Moonbay as she examined it. It was a small black velvet box. She opened it up and was shocked to see what was in it. "Oh my god," said Moonbay as she saw a beautiful gold ring. It had a small diamond on the inside that was in the shape of a heart surrounding by many smaller ones. 'Was Van going to propose to her?' Moonbay asked herself. 'What a lousy time for you to do this Fiona,' she thought as she walked towards Van's room wanting to see the state that he was in.
Van ran into his room trying to hold back all the anger that he was feeling. 'How could she do that to me?' Van asked himself. The anger then turned to sadness. 'I thought that she might have actually loved me, but I guess I was wrong," said Van as he did something he hadn't done in a long time, he cried. Pulling himself off of the floor he fell onto he walked over to the bed and laid down in it. Someone knocked on the door to his room. "Go away," he yelled. The person just opened the door and walked in. Van looked and saw that it was Moonbay. "What do you want?" asked Van. "To see what you were like after what happened. "I guess you would since you were listening in the whole time, and don't think that I didn't hear you," said Van in a rather mean tone. "I only wanted to see how you were doing. You don't have to be so mean about it," yelled Moonbay. Van just stared at the ceiling. "Here, I think that you dropped it," said Moonbay as she threw the small case towards Van. Without even looking at it he swatted it away making it go to the other side of the room. "I don't want it," said Van seriously, "I have no one to give it to," he continued this time in a much sadder tone. "Just leave me alone," said Van as he turned the other way in his bed. Moonbay decided to just leave him alone. Before she left she looked back and Van who was turned the other way and thought, 'You are a fool if you actually believed her.'
The blade liger soared across the desert sands with its amazing speeds heading for the town that was nearby. "Fiona has been so down recently. I know it is from what happened at the festival but I wish that there was a way to cheer her up," said Van while keeping an eye on the desert in front of him. 'This is bound to cheer her up. At least I hope that it is,' thought Van. He saw the outline of the town coming up over the horizon. "I hope that this will help her," he said as the blade liger came to a stop just outside of the town.
"Mommy are you ok?" asked Kristi in her usual sweet voice. "Yeah, I am," said Fiona. The truth was that she had been thinking of something very important. Something that she had been thinking about over the past week in her head, attempting to help make it easier for her to do when the time comes. 'This may be one of the hardest thing I will ever have to do. Probably just as hard as leaving all those years ago, and maybe even harder,' thought Fiona.
Getting back into the blade liger, Van had a huge smile across his face. 'I can't wait to do this and see the look on her face,' thought Van as he continued to smile. He got the blade liger started and moved it out. "I will do this tonight. It will have to be prefect though,' he thought as he headed back towards the base.
"Hey Van, what do you have there?" asked Thomas seeing Van as he carried something as well as seeming very paranoid at the moment. "Something? I don't have anything," said Van as he tried to move away. "What about that thing behind your back?" asked Thomas trying to see behind him but Van just moved so he couldn't see. "I don't have anything behind my back," said Van as he made a mad dash towards his room. Upon reaching the safety of it he immediately fell onto the bed. "Oh man. I thought that I might not get away with it," he said as he sighed in relief. 'I have one question moron. Do you actually think that you are ready to try this?' asked a little voice in his head. "I hope I am," said Van as he just stared at the ceiling. He looked outside his window and noticed that it was already dark outside. "My how time flies," said Van as he wondered where all the time went. He stood up from his bed and placed something in his back pocket and walked towards the door. "Here goes nothing," said Van as he stepped out of his room.
Fiona sat in her staring at her mirror when she heard a soft knock on her door. "Who's there?" asked Fiona not even looking towards the door. "It's me," came Van's voice. Fiona's features seemed to darken when that was said. "Just a second," said Fiona as she took a deep breath and opened the door to reveal Van standing on the other side. "Something wrong?" asked Van seeing the look on Fiona's face. "I just haven't been sleeping well," said Fiona looking at the ground. "Thinking about the fact that they found out?" asked Van with as much kindness in his voice as he could possibly use. "That and other things," said Fiona not even looking up. "Like what?" asked Van. "It doesn't matter at the moment," said Fiona finally looking at Van. "Listen Van. There is something very important that I need to talk to you about," said Fiona as she once again found the floor very interesting.
"Just trust me about this," said Ashley with a grin as both her and Thomas hid behind a bunch of crates. "I am not so sure about all of this," said Thomas very cautiously. "What? Don't you trust me?" asked Ashley putting on her best smile. "It's not that. It's just that I am not sure about this," said Thomas. "Come on Mr. Serious. You need to lighten up a little," said Ashley with her brightest smile, "Besides we are only doing this to Irvine and Moonbay. Speak of the devils," said Ashley upon seeing them coming. "Just trust me about this," said Ashley as she held a string out to Thomas. He was hesitant at first but then took it. They both watched Irvine and Moonbay as they walked towards them.. They watched as the stopped right at a specified point. "Do it," yelled Ashley. Thomas almost didn't do it but for some reason he did. "Heads up," yelled Ashley to the unsuspecting Irvine and Moonbay. "What does she mean?" asked Irvine unsure of what to make by her statement. "I don't know," said Moonbay. A second later they did learn when a bunch of water balloons fell right on their heads. What made it worse was that they were filled up with cold water. "COLD," yelled Moonbay as all the water balloons drenched her and Irvine. They looked over to see a hysterical Ashley and an amused Thomas. "I'll get you," yelled Moonbay as she charged towards the to faster than a lightning saix. "Run," yelled Ashley as both her and Thomas ran in separate direction from the enraged Irvine and Moonbay.
A number of minutes and a lot of yelling later, Moonbay walked down the halls going to her room to get changed. 'I don't believe them, but I must say that I am impressed that she was able to get Thomas to do something like that. He is too serious at times,' thought Moonbay. She then walked by Fiona's room and heard a discussion going on inside. Her curiosity got the better of her and she decided to listen in.
"What is it?" asked Van since Fiona had been really silent for the last few minutes. Fiona took a deep breath and spoke. "Van, I." said Fiona yet she couldn't get the words out. She took another deep breath and gave it another try. "Van, I want you to stop protecting me," said Fiona looking at the ground. Van was confused by what she was saying. "Huh?" asked Van. "Stop protecting me. I want you to focus more on protecting Kristi," said Fiona still looking at the floor. "But why?" asked Van. "I just want you to ok?" Fiona nearly yelled. Van was taken back by her sudden outburst. "I am going to protect you both," said Van. "No. if you protect us both then it will make it harder for you," said Fiona. "Fiona. Where is all of this coming from?" asked Van trying to look at her face. Fiona just turned out of his view. "Van, stop it! Stop it. I don't want you to because I don't feel safe around you right now," yelled Fiona. 'Liar,' her mind screamed at her. Fiona really hated to do this but to her it had to be done. Van was hurt by what she said. "You don't mean that do you?" asked Van. Fiona took a deep breath and continued. "Yes I do. That is also one of the reason I left. I don't love you Van, and I never will," said Fiona as she felt tears start to come up at her own words but she held them back. She felt like she was about to break down and cry. She also had the urge to tell him it was all a lie and that she didn't mean any of it. The look on Van's face just made it all worse. The pained look on his face just made her heart shatter. He then turned around and started to walk towards the door. "Then does that mean that all that has happened to us was just a mistake?" asked Van in quiet voice to show his hurt. Fiona didn't respond to him. 'Don't do this,' her mind yelled at her again. Van stood in front of the door and turned his head slightly to the side. "Stop toying with my heart," said Van as he opened the door and after nearly running into Moonbay ran down the halls away from the room.
Moonbay was stunned by Van's sudden sprint out of the room. Also by the fact that he looked like he was about to cry. 'What a thing for a grown man like him to do,' thought Moonbay. She looked into the still open door to the room to see Fiona still standing. However there was something different this time from when she was talking to Van. She appeared to be shaking and then the inevitable happened. She fell to her knees and let the tears that she had been holding back flow freely. "Why did you lie to him?" asked Moonbay not liking the sad state that Fiona was currently in. Fiona turned a teary face towards her friend. "I want him to protect only our daughter but he wouldn't he still wanted to protect me," said Fiona as more tears fell down her face. Now Moonbay was really starting to get annoyed. "She walked up to Fiona and got on her knees before Fiona. "Fiona. Forgive me," said Moonbay as she brought a hand back and slapped Fiona hard. Fiona held a hand to her cheek where Moonbay had slapped her and she was surprised. "Stop it Fiona! Stop trying to do what you think is best for everyone, and hurt yourself for doing this. I don't blame Van for what he said about you toying with his heart. You kept doing these things to him. like when you left all those years ago and now this. He cares for you deeply maybe even love you and you keep pushing him away. Well stop it. For once don't think about others and think about yourself," yelled Moonbay. "I can't. it is already too late for me to take it back," said Fiona as more tears formed. Moonbay stood up and started to walk towards the door. "Stop denying yourself the life I know that you wanted before all of this. You have changed and it is not for the better," said Moonbay as she walked out of the room leaving Fiona alone. More tears came out just knowing what she did and what her own friend just did.
Moonbay turned and prepared to go to her room when something caught her eye. She didn't know what it was but she reached to pick it up. 'Van must have dropped it in his sudden departure,' thought Moonbay as she examined it. It was a small black velvet box. She opened it up and was shocked to see what was in it. "Oh my god," said Moonbay as she saw a beautiful gold ring. It had a small diamond on the inside that was in the shape of a heart surrounding by many smaller ones. 'Was Van going to propose to her?' Moonbay asked herself. 'What a lousy time for you to do this Fiona,' she thought as she walked towards Van's room wanting to see the state that he was in.
Van ran into his room trying to hold back all the anger that he was feeling. 'How could she do that to me?' Van asked himself. The anger then turned to sadness. 'I thought that she might have actually loved me, but I guess I was wrong," said Van as he did something he hadn't done in a long time, he cried. Pulling himself off of the floor he fell onto he walked over to the bed and laid down in it. Someone knocked on the door to his room. "Go away," he yelled. The person just opened the door and walked in. Van looked and saw that it was Moonbay. "What do you want?" asked Van. "To see what you were like after what happened. "I guess you would since you were listening in the whole time, and don't think that I didn't hear you," said Van in a rather mean tone. "I only wanted to see how you were doing. You don't have to be so mean about it," yelled Moonbay. Van just stared at the ceiling. "Here, I think that you dropped it," said Moonbay as she threw the small case towards Van. Without even looking at it he swatted it away making it go to the other side of the room. "I don't want it," said Van seriously, "I have no one to give it to," he continued this time in a much sadder tone. "Just leave me alone," said Van as he turned the other way in his bed. Moonbay decided to just leave him alone. Before she left she looked back and Van who was turned the other way and thought, 'You are a fool if you actually believed her.'