Disclaimer: I give up. Refer to the last 18 chaps for it.
Author's Note: This is a short chapter so read if you're interested in the thoughts of Kat and Nicole.
Sisters till the End
This is dedicated to Pablo/Cecil because he is such an awesome writer and he has inspired me to go farther. Thank you Pablo/Cecil for your awesome story and your awesome talent!
Chapter Nineteen: Think of MeShe lay in her cot, awake, in the dead of night. It was so late that the moon had loosened its hold on the cabin and no longer made it shine like a pearl on the inside and the stars had disappeared into the velvet in which they resided. Not even critters bothered to make a sound. The only thing she could hear was silence, deafening silence.
Turning over she tried to make herself comfortable in a failed attempt to fail into the graceful holds of sleep. She should've known that it would be useless. Previous attempts had proven a failure. Sleep would just not come to her tonight.
Kat sighed and decided to let her mind drift. Their plan was set and every thing was ready. The Dark Stars should reach the Vione sometime within the next day and that was when she would supposedly bring Dilandau the key to the Second. Part of her still couldn't believe that they had been able to pull off such an insane plan. Think of what would've happened if it had fallen apart!
However, her mind ignored the absolute ingenious of the events at hand. Instead, it focused on someone very close, very dear, and very confusing. Her mind drifted back to the parts of Dilandau, how he had reacted when Coran put his arm on her and how he had actually, in a subtle way, tried to protect her from her own head-strong impulses. The same way he used to do. Had his eyes revealed some sort of elusive emotion when he saw Coran and her?
In a strange way this situation reminded her of another, years and years ago, when she was little. When her mother had first brought home someone she had confused the man with a date. She had been confused and hurt and had thrashed out like a wild animal, earning a couple harsh words from her mother and the retreat of the man. That act had brought her mother's anger and disbelief of her actions for a long time.
Funny, she thought idly, how much I've changed since I met him. She still remembered the first time when Alex, Nicole and her arrived on Gaea. It seemed like ages ago. She remembered how they had gotten their powers and were confused, how Destiny seemed to be playing a trick on them when they blew away the walls of their cells, and how Dilandau had captured her. When Zaibach was doing experiments on her she remembered how he would stand over her, not in a loving way, but in a confused way. Trying, desperately, to find out what he was feeling and why. She remembered his words, harsh and filled with anger, some calm and sad, and the occasional stray that would complicate things.
When they finally went back to Earth she had pined over him, wondering if he still thought about her. That second time she had really thought she had lost him. Now, it seemed very true but reflecting on it she wondered why she had thought she had lost him. Either way they stayed on Gaea, dedicating their lives to this world, which had awoken inside them a secret, and had given them true love. She really thought things were better.
They were, something told her. They were better. Things go wrong but that's life. They could've been much worse and they weren't.
That was true. Things could have been much, much worse. They weren't and as always, Dilandau pulled her thought. Alex and Nicole gave her the final push and she was once again thinking in the light of situations. It was a rocky road, walking the life of a married Protector, but it was so worth it.
Now, thing were getting so hectic she couldn't even find bottom if she wanted to. Dilandau was confusing her more now then ever and she wasn't sure how to handle it. Was Nicole right? Was she changing for the worse? Or was it the situation that brought out the worst in her? She couldn't tell. She could never tell.
When it came down to the end there was only one question that she knew she would be asked. Would she stay or would she leave?
Nicole lay in bed, thinking, as Chesta snored peacefully next to her. Gazing at the blonde haired Dragon Slayer, she smiled, and said a small prayer of thanks for what she had; a loving husband, a baby… everything except her best friend. She wasn't thinking about Kat or Alex-no, she may get mad at them or think that they had left but they never had. No, she was thinking of her twin brother that she had lost so long ago.
She still remembered him as a child. He was the same age as her and they were born twins, though at the time you could never tell. She remember him always playing with her and protecting her, promising her things that he would always come through on. He loved her dearly and she loved him. That was why it broke her heart when he left.
Whether it was by choice or not, they still don't know. Her parents had taken her to a sleep over and left him home alone. They couldn't have been gone an hour but when they came back the door was open and the house was trashed. Her father called the police while her mother became hysterical. Two hours later the police left and the search was on.
Coming home the next morning had been a huge shock to her. Her mother, eyes red from crying all night, told her of the news and both broke down into tears together. Her brother was gone-missing-kidnapped by someone and they had no clue who. The news spread like wildfire and soon the whole neighborhood was joining in the search and trying to keep moral high. He would return, they told her, one day he would just appear and someone would bring him home.
A week past, then a month, then another month, six months, a year, and year and a half, and then two years. Moral was high but people were losing faith. Her father was grief stricken, giving his only son up for dead and her mother tried to stay strong but Nicole knew at night she would cry herself to sleep. Soon, that became their habit of mourning their son.
However Nicole was not put off. His memory might've escaped her sometimes of she would put it aside for a while but he was never gone from her thoughts. Never. She frequently wondered where he was or if he was all right just as she did her parents. But being on another planet, it was hard to imagine how they were.
That was why a couple months ago she was thoroughly surprised. She had felt her twin on Gaea. When they were little they could always sense the other because they were so close but it had been years since she saw him. Then she felt him that one day, just for an hour, and then he was gone again.
Now, she thought, I have another concern. She put her hand on her stomach, wondering about their unborn child. She was barely two months pregnant and she was already wondering about their child. Did she want the baby to grow up in Zaibach, where he would be raised as a soldier-to experience death and be trained in the ways of death? Did she want him to have the life that she and his father led? No she didn't, but she was afraid of what would happen if she tried to take her family away from it. She was scared that this war, with the Second, would destroy all hopes of her child having a safe future. It was just something inside her that made her scared.
She leaned back and closed her eyes, the late hours calling her to sleep. Maybe things would turn out all right in the end. Somehow, they always did. Just have faith; something told her as she drifted off to sleep. Have faith in those who you love. They'll see to it that things turn out right.
Author's Note: Nicole's pregnant! Yay! And she and Kat are thinking about their lives… very sentimental I know. Hey, we're getting closer to the end of this story and I know it's incredibly long but… hey, review and tell me what you think of it.
~The Shadow That Takes Form as a Kat~
~~ShadowKat~~