Guardians

Note: This chapter is finally here, after who knows how long… I'm so, so, so sorry for the wait. You all can thank Aspendragon for getting me back on track… Review if you're still interested in the story… Here's chapter 52!

Chapter Fifty-Three: Into the Lake

Karmina took a deep breath and stared at her CD player. She had resolved almost everything that her heart felt was undone. So what, then, was giving her the feeling that she had yet to complete her task?

She turned off the music with a sigh. It wasn't helping her at all. Closing her eyes, she called back Wingweaver's words…

"The darkness… though created from the dark monsters… became something much more when the two of you were born. No, Kaiba, do not interrupt me with your unbelieving attitude. Wait, at least, until I am through, for this is a story, a prophecy, to be spoken through only once, and the whole thing spoken without interruptions from the likes of you. Now… the two of you, being the only humans with guardians who stuck around even after you underwent all sorts of changes, not all of them very becoming to character. Perhaps it was the fact that you were both orphans… or that you put others above yourselves, or so I'm told. Whatever the reason, your destinies were intertwined from the moment you came to-"

How was she to believe that what she did mattered so much in another realm when hardly anyone ever noticed what she did here? How could she change things in a world where she didn't belong, and never would?

"The darkness… was nearly destroyed many long years ago, mere instants before the birth of Seto Kaiba, though that was not your name then. But when I might have slain it, and indeed it was I who nearly did, it found itself a new source of power; the darkness inside the hearts of two very different humans… the darkness that was there from the beginning, although it took much time for it to show, and grow, and become different for the both of you. Because of you… the darkness lives on. And because of that… the monsters are slowly dying out. It poisons the very air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. Not only that, but it sends it's armies of rain, wind, and snow after us, to end our existence, so that it may rule our realm, and someday yours as well. It is a terrible thing… but only you can defeat it… because it is a part of you."

It pained her to realize that the darkness's existence was her fault, but it was also a little hard to believe. How could the same evil feed off of her and Seto, who were so very different?

Still... we are drawn together is the strangest way… She thought with a smile. Looking back now… if someone told me I'd find myself falling in love with Seto Kaiba, I think the first thought in my mind would be… that it wasn't possible for me to fall in love… because… Because no one saw me… because I was nobody, and nothing… And now… I would never say a thing like that… because I know now… that at least someone cares…

She sighed. None of this was helping. She loved Seto very much, but she sometimes still wondered about him. He could be so distant and so disbelieving…

That was it! Seto hadn't resolved HIS heart yet, which left her task undone. Of course, who knew what the CEO needed to resolve? She was a little afraid to ask.

With a sigh she hauled herself off the bed and turned off the music. Now was not a time to hide in her room. It was a time for action.

"Hi… can I speak with Seto please?"

"You can just go on up to his office, Miss Karmina," the secretary said.

"All right, thanks."

The buzzer clicked and she walked softly up to the office, where she found her favorite CEO hunched over his computer.

"Seto," she whispered, laughing when his head shot up in amazement and he nearly fell. "I thought that Japan's most wealthy was supposed to be more coordinated and cool."

"Not with the people he loves."

She blushed. "Um… have you been… trying to resolve your heart, like Wingweaver said? That's why I came here today. I have this feeling… like we're running out of time."

He sighed and pushed the computer away. "I feel it too… but you know I have trouble with this sort of stuff."

"Well… the most important thing… is that you don't feel anything is undone. Like something you should say or do to someone…"

He smirked mischievously and stood up quickly, crossing the room to cup her face in his. "Only this," he whispered, kissing her deep and long.

She sighed when he finally let go. "I love you so much, Seto."

"I love you too," he said with a grin. "And sometimes I just wish that Wingweaver would leave us alone."

"She's my guardian, Seto. She has to be around. I miss her when she's gone. We have to save her world."

"I know… If it's that important to you… let's go there right now, okay?"

"Really?"

"Of course."

After grabbing jackets just in case, they walked through the park, which was always romantic, no matter the season.

"Should we jump?" Karmina asked, staring into the murky water beneath the bridge.

Seto shrugged. "I don't see why not." He took her hand in his warm one, making her feel as if they were one. Nothing could stop them now.

Except the ground… which they hit instantly with a resounding "SMACK". But no splash. They were in Wingweaver's world once more.

Only now, the world was on fire…

End note: MWAHAHAHAHA! I have returned. I bet you thought that Guardians was over, didn't you? Unfortunately, Writergirl118 never dies! Review please, if you have any interest left in this story. I'm SOOO sorry for the wait.