Summery; Warning; Disclaimer: See First Chapter.
This is the last chapter of this story! I hope it was good for all of you guys that read it. Not much else to say, I'm afraid.
Please review.
"It's huge!" Hajime gasped, as they found the tainted Leafe just around the corner. It had merged with a building, and was about six stories tall at this point.
"We'll have to Prêt," Fenrir suggested, earning a quick glance from all the Knights, and Toni lit up.
"Score!"
"I'm glad to see you're willing to try again," Sasame said calmly, and took her hand. "Maybe this will work this time."
"No! No, you stupid idiot! Sasame, if you do that, I'll – I'll – I'll…" Toni found herself at a loss for words when the pair's hands began to glow, and Fenrir eagerly merged with Sasame. To the Knights' surprise, the moment she started the Prêt the Leafe stopped attacking, and seemed to wither away.
"What the hell's going on?" Go demanded, backing away as Fenrir emerged as Toni as the Pretear of Sound. "Toni – are you okay?"
"You really are a bunch of idiots," she chuckled, and Hayate narrowed his eyes as Kei frowned, hearing that the voice wasn't the same as Toni's.
"What are you doing?" Go continued to press her, but was suddenly flung back by the Bow of Sound. Toni barely notice, preoccupied with Sasame. Being bound by Leafe, and somehow absorbed in it, she felt his presence nearby, and could sense he was rapidly losing his Leafe.
"Sasame!" she cried silently, desperately wishing she could reach out to him. To her shock, she felt a twinge in the back of her mind, and frantically clutched at it, drawing it to her. Toni realized that it was Sasame's Leafe, and her mind raced.
"You fools!" Fenrir laughed, transforming back into the form she had shown Toni. "Not to notice when your own Pretear isn't even herself! It's a wonder you weren't defeated when we first met!"
"Huh?" Mannen blinked, to stunned to do anything else.
"We met before?" Kei repeated, "You don't look familiar."
"I am the Great Tree of Fenrir!" she announced, flying up in the air and spreading her arms wide. Without further explanation, she began to draw Leafe into herself, the air shimmering around them. Toni was concentrating on Sasame's weakening presence, and wished she could hit something out of frustration.
"Sasame, don't you die on me!" she ordered. "You're my Knight – I forbid it! See, I'm acting like a Pretear? Why can't I do anything?" she demanded to no one in particular, and suddenly sensed amusement coming from his Leafe. "You're laughing? Now, of all times?"
"Calm down, Tonia."
"Sasame?" she blinked, but there was no answer. "Sasame!" Reaching out as far as she could, Toni spread her Leafe out around her, searching for him. Finding a sliver left she wrapped him up in her Leafe, giving him it as fast as she was able to, without thinking of how that would affect her. So it came rather as a surprise when she found herself gasping for air, barely able to breath, let alone sustain herself.
"You little wretch!" Fenrir cried, pausing in her absorption of Leafe. The Knights found themselves bound as Toni had been, only not invisible.
"Who's she talking to?" Hajime wondered, but no one replied.
"What do you think you're doing?" Fenrir demanded, and suddenly released her bonds on Toni. The Knights cried out in surprise when the Pretear abruptly dropped from out of nowhere from the sky and landed heavily on the ground, barely alive.
"What did you do?" Kei asked angrily, losing all self-control. "Did you absorb her Leafe? Did you kill her, you…monster?"
"I didn't do a thing to her," Fenrir replied scornfully, barely casting a second glance at the girl. "She did it to herself, trying to save your Knight of Sound. Foolish little idiot, she –" Fenrir was cut off when a ball of light suddenly began to withdraw from her body. She clutched at it, desperately trying to draw it back into her, but Sasame was on the ground within moments, catching his breath.
"Sasame!" Hayate called, and the Knight looked up briefly.
"The little bitch!" Fenrir screeched, now drawing in Leafe in huge amounts. Her body was clothed in a black robe, and her hair swirled around her figure as her eyes glowed angrily. She directed a blast of tainted Leafe toward Toni, still holding the other Knights firmly in place.
"Toni!" Go cried out, and Shin closed his eyes to avoid seeing her die. After a few seconds he looked again, and gasped in surprise. Sasame had thrown himself at the unconscious girl and had pushed them out of harm's way, laying protectively on top of her.
"Fine! Die along with the Pretear if that's what you desire, Knight!" Fenrir shrieked angrily, and Kei noticed something odd about her hair.
"She's…taking root!" he realized, seeing her hair meld itself into the ground and surrounding buildings. "She's becoming the Tree again! If she reaches that stage, we're all done for!"
"You're just Mister Sunshine," Hayate grunted, still trying to break free.
"Tonia…Tonia, please, say something…" Sasame whispered, looking into her face. Her eyes were closed, and he realized that he wanted nothing more at that moment then to see them open again and glaring at him. His fingertips resting on her jawline, the Knight of Sound was surprised at his emotional reaction to seeing her so close to death – it was more than a Knight for a Pretear, or a friend to friend, he knew that much.
Her eyelids fluttered briefly, but her breathing remained faint and erratic. Pressing his fingertips against her face, he allowed some Leafe to flow into her, having quickly regenerated his own Leafe once he was free. He watched as her chest slowly began to rise and fall at a more normal pace, if still rather shallow, and moved so he was kneeling over her from the side, instead of sitting on her.
"Tonia…" he began, but froze when her eyes slowly opened. Focusing on the blurry images around her, she hardly believed it when she saw Sasame beside her, looking pale and concerned.
"Great…now I'm dead…" she managed breathily. "And so're you….I guess I wasn't strong enough…and it's all….your fault, Sasame you jackass…you couldn't even tell a fake me…"
"Tonia!" he swept her up in his cloak, pressing her against his chest. She gasped at the sudden motion, and the rush of air into her lungs brought the world into clearer focus.
"I'm…not dead?" she asked hesitantly, trying to look up as her face was held firmly against his torso.
"Hey, lovebirds, feel like helping out?" Go shouted suddenly. The Knight of Fire felt a little jealous, he admitted, but shrugged it off for another time. "We're still stuck here!"
"You're not strong enough," Sasame tried to protest as she grabbed his hand, but she shot him a dirty look.
"Bullshit," she retorted, "If you can Prêt with that bitch, you can mange it with me. Now, I have some ass to kick, so let's go!" With that, she gripped his hand firmly, and felt a rush of Leafe as the Prêt flowed into them. Within seconds, she was the Pretear of Sound, and marveled at hearing all the things that had previously been out of her range. Shaking her head, she turned her attention to Fenrir, who was indeed taking root into the surrounding area. "Back off, bitch. This is my town, and you're not destroying it again," Toni said quietly, gathering Leafe to her.
"You stupid little girl," Fenrir sniffed, barely paying any attention. "You think just because you've once again a Pretear with the Knight of Sound means you can defeat me?"
"It's a start," Toni replied. "And I hate when people like you are condescending!" Aiming the Bow of Sound, Toni felt Sasame guiding her power as she had Fenrir in her sights.
"That's not going to work, little girl."
"Little girl?" the Pretear repeated, now really pissed off.
"Waste her, Toni!" Mannen cheered, the Knights still bound in Leafe.
"Stay on your guard," Sasame warned her, and she nodded. "Taking root like she is, she's stronger than before – it'll take a lot to bring her down."
"I figured as much, Sasame," Toni replied mentally, and then finished out-loud. "Now, just watch as I show who's stronger!"
"You think you can beat me?" Fenrir sniffed, taking a little more note of the Pretear. "Die, you little witch!"
"Who's the witch?" Toni demanded, smoothly avoiding the Demon Larvae Fenrir shot at her. Flying up into the air, Toni readied the Bow of Sound in her hands and inhaled deeply as she sensed the Leafe flowing into her.
"Concentrate," Sasame murmured, and she felt his presence surrounding her like a cloak of Leafe. Nodding, Toni aimed the weapon at Fenrir, whose roots were now deeply absorbed into the area. The Knights who were still bound were beginning to grow tired, and Toni realized that there wasn't much time left before Fenrir sucked all their Leafe from them.
"I won't let you win!" Toni shouted, and released the shining arrow into the air. "I won't let someone like you beat me!" The Knights watched as the arrow, growing in power as it streaked towards Fenrir, glowed white with Leafe. Fenrir shrieked as the arrow pierced her shield, and she began to disintegrate as her Leafe was purified and drawn back into the world instead of herself.
"You…little bitch!" Fenrir cursed as she disappeared from view, shining particles floating into the sky before imploding. The Leafe binding the Knights dissipated as well, and they landed on their feet in relief.
"Toni!" Sasame cried, ending the Prêt as she dropped from the sky in exhaustion. He landed gently on his feet cradling the Pretear in his arms, and the others gathered around in concern.
"Is she okay?" Hajime asked.
"I'm…fine," she managed a weak smile, trying to sit up a little straighter. "I can sense Himeno nearby – somewhere in this block. She's still shielded, but it'll be easy enough for one of you to break through it, now that she's gone…"
"She's just asleep," Sasame told them, as she trailed off and her eyes closed suddenly. "Using the Bow, she let it absorb most of her own Leafe to increase it's power. She just needs some rest to recouperate, that's all."
"Is Himeno all right?" Toni asked, waking up with a start several hours later.
"She's fine. We're in her house, by the way," Sasame added, smiling down at her. "You certainly were something back there, you know. You could have killed yourself, using so much Leafe to power the Bow. It wasn't necessary."
"Yes, it was," she said stubbornly. "I can't believe you were all tricked!"
"Well…" Sasame trailed off awkwardly, unsure of what to say. "Tonia, your mother was looking for you."
"I'm not going back," she decided suddenly, frowning to herself. "I don't have to – I know that now. I can find a place to stay, but I won't go back there."
"Antonia – where were you?" her mother asked, meeting her at the door.
"I've been busy, mom," she said stiffly, brushing past into the house. She was met by Duane, who looked at her smugly – she crossed her arms and glared back, refusing to back up as he approached her. "What do you want?" she demanded, and he grasped her arm tightly.
"Your mother was worried, Antonia," he said quietly, and she jerked her arm away. He went to grab her again, but a figure suddenly blocked him from her and stood firmly between them. "Who the hell are you?"
"This is Sasame," Toni said calmly, going up the stairs to her room. "I just came to get some stuff I'll need. I'll be staying with him, so don't worry about it."
"You little slut!" Duane shouted after her, but Sasame's calm gaze stopped him from chasing after her. Toni only took a few moments to grab her things together, and made her way to the front door, where Sasame was patiently waiting for her.
"I won't be back. I'm sorry, mom," she managed, glancing briefly at her mother. "I'm in good hands, so don't worry. I guess this is goodbye."
"Wait – Antonia?" her mother froze when Sasame suddenly swept Toni into his arms and shot into the sky, leaving her old life behind her.
"Sasame – you shouldn't have done that," she chided him, giggling a little as she grasped his neck firmly. "But…are you sure about this?"
"Well, you turned eighteen yesterday, so there's no legal complications," he said calmly. "Tonia…if you're not sure, you don't have to come with us."
"Damn straight I'm sure!" she informed him sternly. "I couldn't live another second in that house, now that I have you guys. I'll find a job, so I won't be a freeloader either."
"You can freeload all you want, as far as I'm concerned," Sasame murmured, before bending his neck to kiss her firmly on the lips. She gasped a little, but eagerly returned his caress, relishing the feeling of the wind whipping around her as they flew among the clouds.
Yes, I know, kind of a weak ending? But I thought it was nice, albeit a bit corny...Please review!