Hi all! Sorry for not updating in over a month, but this is the last chapter and I hope you enjoy!

Opening the Past

Chapter Twelve:

Going Backward in order to go forward

In a jolting burst the white light vanished and I found my self screaming as I went flying through the air. Catching a slight glance of One having the same trouble waving her arms around, I fell onto something firm. I heard a loud humph sound and my head was spinning. Opening my eyes I was on the ground of a gray tiled room – I was on top of someone. Swinging up my head I saw Ryou struggling to lift himself up as he held his head. I broke into a smile at seeing him again and before I knew it I had swung my arms around his neck.

"Ryou!" I then kissed him – right on the lips! Just as quickly as it had happened I pulled back and stared wide eyed at him my cheeks flushed red. I saw that he was blushing too. We both still on the floor I couldn't believe what I had just done. And embarrassment sinks deep into my humility. Wanting to cover my face I instead looked up at a smirking Mint and the unforgettable looks on Pudding and Lettuce. Zakuro looked unfazed. Keiichiro was smiling. I then looked to my side at a high squeal and chocking sounds.

It looked at if Kish had caught One as she was now squeezing the life out of him as he held her. A big, bright smile was on her face as she held tight to him.

"Kisshuuu! Your ok!"

"You're hurting me..." Came a distant wheezing sound from him. She loosened her hold on him and looked at him with shinning eyes.

"What happened to you?" He smiled broadly, his arms wrapped around her waist.

"I have no idea!" She raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean you have no idea?"

"We brought him back." Stated Mint still grinning at me blushing on the floor. "Keiichiro managed to nab him and bring him back here. It took us longer to figure out had to get you guys."

One looked back to Kish with a loving look in her eyes mixed with relief. She grabbed hold of his shirt and placed her forehead against his chest.

"I thought I'd lost you…"

Kish buried his face in her hair as her held her tighter.

"You could never lose me Neko-chan."

We all stood there watching – except for Zakuro – as the two had their moment. The color in my cheeks began to darken. Just looking at them I couldn't imagine that it was actually me. We were the same person but so different in so many ways. And this scene that I witnessed seemed to prove it.

Sensing movement I glanced to my left to see Ryou getting up off the floor. As I watched him dust himself off he kept his eyes on everything but me. I on the other hand couldn't muster the will to stand. Everything just felt so…odd.

Then the lights to the lab flickered off and their was a loud zooming noise as the bright white light that emitted from with in the machine wavered for a moment . Everyone snapped out of their private little conversation they had be having at the moment about One and Kish as the light suddenly came back stronger than it was before and a lick of purple lightening zapped out of its center and vanished as it touched the air out side of the tubing.

"Aagggggghh!" Lettuce screamed as she stumbled back into Mint. I wiped my head around in her direction and my face fell. For the corner of the lab was fading into a blend of colors. It was as if a wet towel was being swiped across the drawing that had been made on her living room table.

I jumped to my feet my heart racing in a panic. I reached for my pendant but felt nothing but empty space in my pocket. I was immobilized as I reached the realization that…I no longer had it.

I turned too looked behind us at the Time machine. The white light was growing stronger within its tubing and something in its center caught my eye. It was a gold object that reflected shafts of golden light. My eyes widened. Was it….?

Within that spark of a moment everything around us was sucked dry and replaced by an atmosphere of swirling colors of blue, pink, purple and white. Sizzling ribbons of lighting loped about to one side intermingled with pink sparks. Our feet were held up by a slick surface that reflected the mist of colors that surrounded us. Their was no limit to space in this place and it seemed to stretch out for eternity. As beautiful as if may seem, like a wonderland in a fairy tale I felt cold to the bone.

This was the very same atmosphere…the very same mist of vibrant color…that had taken Two and Three. I felt a sick fuzziness in my core and my legs felt weak.

"Where are we?" I was snapped out of my faze to see Lettuce and Pudding standing a distance away from me. Puddings voice echoed throughout the timeless space and flowed through the entire area.

Pudding was looking about in wonderment as Lettuce was visible quivering. Her eyes swelled with terror and fear.

I made a step toward them.

"O my dear God!"

My head swished around to my other side as I stopped in mid-step. One was standing beside Kish, Mint, Zakuro and Keiichiro. She was walking backwards as her face read the same emotion I felt. She backed into Kish and he grabbed hold of her shoulder pulling her closer to him. His face was the bleakest I had ever seen it and his eyes were narrowed as he searched our surrounding area.

"Don't swear…" Mint half whispered as she gazed wide eyed.

Immediately I noticed who was missing. My throat seemed to block by an invisible knot as I franticly looked about.

"Ry-

I was interrupted to spot him just a few feet away from me gazing sternly at the mist gathering in the never ending distance. My feet barely touched the substance beneath us as I bounded over to him.

I opened my mouth to speak to him but stopped when I noticed the flicker of movement in the mist. The air was suddenly filled with a sizzling sound that sounded as if water had just come into contact with a slit wire.

And then out of now where a bolt of purple lighting literally on flames came darting towards me. I screamed and a hand roughly threw me back.

I stuck the floor and slid across it.

When I lifted myself up onto my knees I heard a scream and a rumble. Instinctively I knelt forwards, buried my face between my knees and covered my head with my hands. It felt as if the atmosphere was collapsing.

As I held my eyes shut I tried to hold back the high pitched wailing that was splitting my eardrums.

It went on to the point that I thought it would never end.

Suddenly my hand was grabbed and I was lifted to my feet. I stumbled forward and found myself with Ryou, his hand clasped firmly around mine. Before I could say a word I spotted what was making the noise.

The lighting seemed to be focused on in the direction of the mist that was swiftly moving towards us.

The sick feeling in my stomach returned as I remembered Two running towards it for some purpose that I was blinded to.

But there was no time for tears or to worry about what might have happened to Three and Two. The only thing I could afford to focus on was the mist I knew had taken them away and how it was coming for us as well.

Not only that but Lighting was striking the all around us.

"Metamorphosis!"

I turned to see that the rest of the mews had transformed and made a barricade around One. It was then for the first time that I realized that the brunt of the lighting was aiming for her.

"Move!" Ryou ordered as he grabbed hold of my arm and jerked me out of the way of a bolt of purple light. But right when we where clear out of the way another one came for us and we were forced to jump backwards and I almost lost my balance. When another round came forth Ryou and I we almost dancing as he swung me from side to side and moved me out of the way.

As we did this the rest of the mews where were working to kept the lighting away from them as Keiichiro stood beside Zakuro.

Leaping to one side I looked up and caught a glance of One. She was holding something in her palm and had her eyes closed. Kish was beside her and was practically growling as if that would be of any help.

Suddenly One was engulfed in a flash of bright pink light and I was nearly blinded. Lifting my hand to shield my eyes I stumbled back and lost my balance. The pink light then broke into petals and as they drifted to the ground I saw for the first time a transformed One just as Ryou caught my before I hit the ground.

I was practically gapping for her uniform was far more appealing than mine.

Ours were almost identical except parts of her uniform had shear and her boots were of a different style. When she opened her eyes they were the same familiar pink as mine usually were and a different bow was at her tail. But the true shock came from when she called on her weapon. And instead of a bell appeared a knife!

With a pink handle and white ribbon spiraling around it. She pressed the flat of it's blade against two fingers and held it in front of forehead. Symbols appeared on the blade glowing hot pink. She called out something , opened her eyes and then swiped the knife down in an arch turning slightingly sideways as the glow emitting from the blade separated and extended into ribbons of pink similar to Zakuro's attack!

The instant they touched the purple shafts of light they vanished into sharks.

I stood there with my jaw dropped before Ryou took hold of my shoulders practically lifting me off my feet as he brought me away from an alerting bolt of lightening.

This went on and it seemed to never end. All the while the mist was becoming more of a storm than anything else as it poured in at all sides.

The soles of my feet were sore and I could barely move my legs any longer. The only thing that seemed to be keeping me moving was Ryou who seemed to be taking the strain better than I was.

I could tell that the mew where having a struggle of their own. For they were slowing and their aiming was off.

When Mint's arrow missed a lighting bolt that was going for Keiichiro and missed it she cursed – for the first time I've heard- before calling out to him to move.

Pudding who was usually the one to hold up better than anyone even seemed to be out of breath.

Lettuce was doing all she could with a stern look on her face as she fought off as many obstacles as the rest of us. Beads of sweat rolling down her forehead.

"Aaaggh!"

"Ichigo!"

My head swerved in the direction of the call and I saw One dropping to her knees, a hand clasped at her right arm as Kish teleported to her side.

"Aaaghh!" she wailed as she leaned forward holding her arm. Kish knelt beside her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders as her face twisted in pain. Even from the distance I stood between them I could hear a harsh stream of curse words from the alien boy.

Another cry caught my attention and I whirled around so fast I almost sprained my ankle. I winced and looked up to see Pudding on her bottom as she struggled to lift herself up.

"Pudding!" I cried as a bolt of purple lighting came right for her. I ran towards her but then a bolt struck in front of me and sent me flying backwards.

When I lifted myself up off the floor my eyes were beginning to glaze over with tears. But thank goodness Zakuro had gotten to her and swept her away.

But…everything was going worse than before. Not only were we loosing we were fighting up against something we knew nothing about. The universe as we knew it could already be gone and we had no idea of how to fix everything even if we did manage to make it.

I had witnessed myself Two and One's alternate universes be wiped off the maps completely. There was no way to bring them back to fix everything if there was no longer a home for them to go back to!

I cringed and reached for my ankle. It was sore and I was on the erdge to damn everything. Ryou somehow managed to get to my side and helped me to my feet. I lent up against him for support but I had trouble focusing my eyes. I was so tired…and the fact I could do nothing to help my friends…was killing me inside.

My head hung as I held back the tears that were pushing at my lids. I bit my lip to help subdue them. But I still couldn't block out the whimpering of One off in the distance and the struggle of my friends. And the thundering roar of thunder everywhere along with the zapping of lighting was driving me insane!

With the sound of another scream I lifted my head to see the mist so close that I felt a chill rushing through my entire body. It was tumbling towards us in the same cascade of color and sparks just as in Two's universe. And… it scared me.

The only thing I could find myself to do was to take a firm hold of Ryou's black shirt and take a step closer to him. I pushed back the tears as my eyes glazed over. Everyone began backing towards the center were Ryou and I stood. For the mist was closing in on all sides.

I couldn't believe…it was going to end like this….

Suddenly a sensation ran through me and I turned just in time to catch a rift opening in the wall of tumbling mist behind us. Ryou looked over his shoulder at what I was gazing at with an intense look on his face. Then out of nowhere Three jumped out of the mist and landed lightly on her feet with Two right behind her!

My jaw dropped and I turned completely around to look at them.

Three stood with a hand at her left hip and looked at me with a cool expression on her face. Two standing behind her also transformed.

"I told you I'd bring her back." Stated Three calmly.

I took a step towards them a smile breaking across my face. And the wall that shielded my eyes leaked a few tears that rolled down my cheeks.

"Three…Two!" I called out. The rest of the mews were just as stunned as I was.

Two called upon her weapon and a long thin rode appeared. It was pink and gleamed with white streaks. The top was adored by a heart shaped sphere with a bell in the center of its crystallized form. She smiled at me with a look in her eyes I had never seen before…they seemed almost…sad.

"Let's beat this thing." She said but not with the ting of confidence that she had held around her before. Even though she was back…I still felt something was wrong.

I coulnd't do anything but smile weakly back and nod.

They fought along side with the rest and I was amazed to see One still working at it with her injured arm. All the while the ground beneath us vibrated. I stayed close to Ryou's side and as the mist came ever closer I took one last glance at him.

His blond bangs were hanging over his blue eyes and his forehead was furrowed with concentrated worry. I could do nothing but lean up against him as I solemnly watched a battle being fought that I could do nothing to do to help.

As I watched them losing my eyes grew harder my lips straightened into a thin line…Their tactics weren't working. I had grown so cold inside that I coulnd't stand to do nothing any longer. I couldn't just stand there and let them die!

Without even thinking a took a step forwards away from Ryou. He reached out for my arm but I yanked it from him and started off at a run towards my friends.

"Ichigo!" He called out but I ignored him. I knew nothing of what I was doing. I just knew that I couldn't let them fight on their own. And as I ran everything around me went silent. And time seemed to slow down. My mind went numb for a moment and everything around me vanished into a blend of bright color.

"Ichigo!" I heard a cry from Lettuce but didn't understand it. But then before I knew it I was struck by a shaft of purple lighting and I was taken into a bright white light.

All the while I felt as if I had died. But then slowly I knew that I wasn't. I was confused and found myself flouting in a space of white light. I turned round and looked at my self weightless. When I looked back up something was coming towards me. It no larger than an egg and was glowing with a familiar pink light. But something was different about it.

I reached out towards it but it was still to far from my grasp. My fingers etched for it as the object slowly came closer. And as the tips of my fingers touched it's smooth surface I was once again blinded.

I came falling as if out of a dream and found myself in the air. I slowly came down in a daze.

I heard my name being called over and over again but I coulnd't place it. All I knew was that it belonged to someone very important to me. And their voice seemed to make my heart jump with every call. Then I no longer felt air surrounding me but a pair of arms wrapping around my waist. Suddenly I no longer was weightless and everything felt heavy once again.

"Ichigo…" The voice was louder…closer. I knew that voice.

I blinked until the colors around me were nothing but blues, pinks and purples with licks of light. I was on my knees of the clear substance at our feet and Ryou's arms were around my shoulders holding me close to him.

"Ichigo?"

It was his voice I heard. Then in as if the wrong lense had been removed from my eyes I saw everything clearly once more and my friends were surrounding me. It was then that I noticed that me hands were clasped at my chest and that something firm was within my palms.

I blinked and looked down at my closed hand. I then slowly uncurled my fingers and took in a sharp breath. For in my palm was my power pendant and not only that it was flickering with a white light more intense then the ones that surrounded us now. And it seemed to be coming from deep inside it.

My lips slightly parted as I stared at it.

It was the same distinctive white light that was given off from the time machine. And I felt it's familiar energy running through my palms, down my arms and to spread through out my entire body.

I then remembered the bright gold light in the center of the time machine before everything vanished. A smile reached my lips… It was it I had seen. And some how…it must have harvested some of its power.

"Ichigo…?" I looked up as Zakuro placed a hand at my shoulder. Concern in her eyes.

"Are you alright."

"We have to go back." I spoke almost in a whisper.

Zakuro's eyebrow arched. The rest of the mews had formed a circle around us. The mist was closing us into a small area. My smile grew wider.

"In order to fix what's been wrong we have to go back." Zakuro looked deep into my eyes as if trying to find the answer there.

"Go back in time." Three stated bluntly with her back to us. Her eyes focus on the threat. Zakuro glanced over her shoulder than stood. While Mint looked over her shoulder at me.

"How in the world are we supposed to do that? We never even figured out how to get the machine to work properly. Not only that It's not here!"

"It's here…" I looked down at the pendent in my hand as it swirled with a new power. I looked to Ryou with a smile on my face. As he gazed back at me with those electric blue eyes I knew for sure how I felt.

"Ichigo…are you sure?" he asked me. I nodded. Then tilted the pendent in my hand so he could get a better look at it. From the look in his eyes I knew he understood. With that my smile widened.

Ryou….

He helped me to my feet and the mews stood turned away from the mist to face us. Keiichiro glanced around with a worried expression as Pudding jumped around with renewed energy.

"We're going to disappear! Awesome!"

Slowly the mist reached us and was streaming in around us at our feet. The vision of my friends vanishing into nonexistence only frightened me for the slightest second. They'll be back…I knew that for sure.

"Ichigo, this better work!" snapped Mint as she held her arms limp at her sides her face with an uncertain glare.

"I still don't know what in the world is going on but I trust you Ichigo." Spoke Lettuce.

I almost wanted to laugh.

Then one by one they were engulfed by the mist of swirling colors of which electric currents moved within its mass.

One stood by Kish's side there hand interlocked before they were gone from my sight.

I turned towards Ryou and I tried to speak how I felt but my lips were dry and words wouldn't come out. I tried again but I still couldn't do it.

Then suddenly his hand slipped behind my neck and his face was right next to mine. Our noses almost touching. I sucked in my breath as he closed the distance between our lips.

When he pulled away he whispered to me.

"Don't be late…" I couldn't help but smile as a single tear ran down my cheek. He then took a step back and into the mist.

I was the only one left and I held the pendent in my palm. I wrapped my fingers tightly around it and squeezed it. I then held it close to me and closed my eyes.

"Take me back to before the wrong was done."

I don't know why I said that. It just came to mind. Then the power inside the pendent was let lose and the last thing I felt was a warm sensation of basking in golden light.

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When I opened my eyes I felt slightly dazed but when it passed I blinked three times before I saw that I was standing in the lab. Everything was back to normal. The lights were on, the familiar humming of the computers and equipments. I looked down at my hand and saw that I was holding the same soda can that had spilled on my skirt just three weeks earlier. I was wearing the same red skirt and green top as that very day…

I looked to the other end of the lab. One of my pigtails brushing against the side of my face as I set down the can on the desk and walked over towards the far corner of the lab. It was dark, hidden in shadow but I knew that the machine was there. I stared at that corner for who knows how long before I turned and started towards the steps. I then caught a glance of the metal table with the light on above it.

Walking towards it I noticed something on top of it. When I neared it my mouth came open. I then lifted up the small piece of line white paper.

It was the recite.

"Ichigo!"

I turned my head towards the steps. Someone was calling me. I held the recite in my hand as I ran up the steps.

Everything felt so odd.

When I reached the top I was met by bright lights. The girls were in their uniforms closing up and Mint came around the corner. She stopped with her hands at her hips.

"Your boyfriend is here for your date." She smiled coyly at me.

"Um…Mint…was there three other girls up here that looked like me?"

She rolled her eyes and started back towards the table with her tea.

"Funny Ichigo. Unless you were cloned." She said sarcastically. I stood there for a moment and watched them cleaning the café.

They didn't remember….

I rushed towards the front door and saw Masaya at the bottom of the steps. He had his back towards me. And when he turned to face me he smiled.

"Hay. Ready to go!"

I stood there just watching him smiling at me. Thinking about how things have changed. I then silently went down the steps and stood before him. I looked him straight in the eye.

"Something wrong Ichigo?"

"We need to talk."

Masaya had a blank look on his face. He slowly turned around and began down the walkway. A slight breeze lifting the hem of his jacket and brushing my hair into my face.

I held my arms.

"I'm sorry…" I whispered into the wind.

"Ichigo…"

I lifted my head to see Ryou standing in front of the open café door looking at me. I let out a sigh and went up the steps two at a time. When I stood in front of him I looked at my feet.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

I looked up with a smile on my face.

"Yeah…I'll be just fine." He raised an eyebrow and looked at me as if he were trying to figure out what had just happened between Masaya and me.

Taking hold of his arm I pulled him around and dragged him back inside the café. For I knew things were going to be different. And I was just fine with that. Funny… how it all started over a snobby customer…and a simple recite.

That was the ending! Hope you liked it and again: I'm soooooo sorry for the long update! Maybe since this is the longest chapter it would makeup for it. Oh and I decided to make a sequel to this don't know when though! Thanks' for the reviews! - Beloved Kitten