Chapter 20
(This is it. The grand finale. I'm so gonna miss you guys... –cries- I'm so pathetic. Hah.)
"Welcome, Chosen One." Smirked Kage in amusement. "We've been expecting you…" As if on cue, twenty or so men stepped from the shadows of the trees, completely encircling the two men. The redhead's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. He'd raced right into an ambush! Zelos slowly spun, watching the circle of brutish knife-wielding thugs as it closed in on he and his enemy. The enemy he'd helped more than hurt. 'Damn him again, for making me do that to Sheena!' Wait, hadn't Sheena been who drew him to the clearing, her and her cries for help. He spun once more, gazing past the thugs and scouring the woods for the raven-haired ninja.
"Sheena!" He called in uncertainty, all the while watching the men who encircled him, practically drooling in anticipation. The men all burst out laughing, as if he'd said something incredibly funny. He whirled on Kage, silently demanding answers. The brunette laughed as well, but answers were what he gave.
"Yes, your darling Sheena is in distress. But she is far from here. No," Kage paused, and when he spoke again his voice mimicked Sheena's flawlessly. "It was I who called you here today." Zelos's eyes widened once more, cursing himself for being so stupid. 'How could I not have known the difference? How could I have walked right into an ambush! An AMBUSH? Ugh. If I die here, it'll be because I'm too stupid and trusting to live.' His heart and mind burned with rage. Here was the man he'd sought to kill, yet he was unable to try without the threat of twenty daggers in his back.
"Haven't you done enough?" He demanded furiously. Kage merely sneered once more.
"Not nearly. Though it's an added bonus for me that your little ninja is so easy to fool. I left her hating you more than when I found her! Heh. I do hope she stops her crying though. Much more of that, and her chains will rust clean off!" Zelos cursed under his breath. Kage always knew what to say to get to him. But still. Sheena? Crying?
"What have you done to her?"
"Nothing! It's all your doing. Your betrayal, how you feigned love to lure her into your trap." He paused to let his words sink in.
"I-… My-… I did WHAT?" The Chosen choked out in disbelief. "What have you told her?"
"Enough chatter. Time to die."
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Faster now could the ninja race, having found her ninja attire dropped in a heap on the path and changed into it in record time. She felt much more at home in her robe than her formal attire and heels, not to mention the fact that finding them meant Zelos had to have come that way. She felt like a true ninja once more. 'He'd better still be alive, or they'll have hell to pay!' She vowed, leaning her torso forward a bit to pick up speed.
All at once, the winds had died down. The forest was not silent any longer… No, now Sheena could hear the sounds of men, many men. This only pushed her faster, so fast she feared she would fall and seriously injure herself, yet to slow down would be to risk Zelos's life. Which was something she'd done quite enough lately.
Pulling into a clearing, she spotted the men, all twenty of them, though about five were on the ground, dead or in a state close to it. The remaining men, however, were all clustered around something laying on the ground, and proceeding to pummel it. Kage was nearby, on one knee, bleeding profusely from the side, but attempting to hide it with both hands. Oh the irony, the exact same injury he'd crippled her with for a while earlier on in her journey. When she'd had to let Zelos carry her, those two days. Zelos… Zelos? Where was he! It couldn't be… Her gaze shifted back to the thing on the ground, and to answer her fears, a flash of crimson hair was seen.
"No!" She cried, whipping Conicere from beneath her pink ribbon and muttering at breakneck speeds, so as to have the seal ready when she came close enough. Racing closer and closer, she continued to mutter, and at last, when it was nearly too late, she shouted, "CYCLONE SEAL!"
All the men that stood over the red-haired form were blown from the spot by a powerful gust of wind, aided by Sylph, who were still fulfilling their promise to help her find Zelos. Kneeling beside the bleeding Chosen, she swung her card in a circle around the pair, calling out 'Guardian Seal' to complete the barrier. It would only last a few minutes at the most, and this time, the men had all the time in the world to wait for it to fade.
Sheena then turned her attention back to Zelos, who had obviously seen better battles. He was covered in blood, though whether it was his or his foe's, the ninja didn't know. Tears rose to her eyes, and she felt a lump rise in her throat, making it near impossible to breathe. Zelos… was dead.
A tear slipped down her cheek, landing on his crimson-stained hand. 'No, not Zelos. Anyone but him...' She pled, though to who she was pleading, even she didn't know.
As if by miracle, she then noticed the faint rise and fall of his chest. Very, VERY faint, but still there. Her heart soared. 'He's ALIVE!' A smile of hope and relief forced itself to her lips, despite the bleak situation, and now her tears were those of relief. The summoner lifted her hand from the grass to reach for a Life Bottle, but found it wet with blood. She looked back to her redheaded companion a moment, and was dismayed to find that it was seeping from a wound in his chest. 'NO!' She refused to give up. Hastily pulling a Life Bottle from her small store of supplies, she brought the bottle to his slightly parted lips and carefully tipped the liquid down his throat.
"Don't die on me, Zelos. I can't lose you again." She insisted, before rising to her feet. With a deep breath, she prepared for the task to come. "Maiden of the Mist, Undine!" A blue mist appeared above her, Undine in mana form. "Red Giant, Ruler of Hellfire, Efreet!" Red mist appeared beside the blue. "Heavenly Messengers, Sylph!" Green joined the red and the blue. "Disciple of Frigid Ice, Celsius!" Blue. She knew she had to do this. "Hammer of Godly Thunder, Volt!" Yellow. No matter what it cost, she had to do this. "Servant of Mother Earth, Gnome!" Brown. It would likely kill her. "Envoy from the Dark Abyss, Shadow!" Black. She had to do this, even if it did kill her. "Light of the Heavens, Luna!" White. And she knew for a fact that it would. Pausing a moment, she took one last look down Zelos. If only he'd been awake to see the look in her eyes, the deep, eternal adoration they held, he may have stopped her. But then she turned back to the mist, and the enemy. "Source of Heaven, Earth, and Everything In Between, Ruler of All, Origin!" The mists took on an unearthly glow. Her rage-filled gaze was set on Kage. "Combine as one, and lend me your strength to rid this world of one more evil."
She raised a hand toward the mana, drawing it to her. By now the men had realized what she was doing, and were fumbling to turn and run. Yet before they could get more than a step, the glowing mana had come down to her palm, into her body. She felt untouchable, though the ninja knew that was merely because of the mana. Throwing her hand in Kage's direction and holding it straight with her other hand 'round her wrist, she cried, "MANA CANNON!" A light brighter than the sun itself filled the clearing and the forest around it.
Sheena closed her eyes tight against it, else it would have blinded her. Moments later, she felt the mana subside, and she peeked through one eye to see if the light had as well. It had. And Kage was no more. Nor were his men, for none of them had run far enough, fast enough to escape the blast. Yet there were no bodies… The Mana Cannon was so thoroughly destructive that not a drop of blood revealed what had occurred. What surprised the summoner, though, was that the trees were still intact. That the mana had only targeted her enemies.
Suddenly, it felt as if the energy had been sucked from her body. She staggered slightly, falling to one knee. 'This is the part where I die.' She thought dryly. By then she could barely hold herself upright. Yet just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Aside from an incredible vertigo, this was as bad as it seemed to get. A wave of relief washed over her, and she attempted to rise, but dizziness forced her back down. She placed a hand on the grass to steady herself, leaning heavily against it. An unexpected warmth suddenly washed over her grounded hand, and for a moment she attributed it to the blood rushing her fingers, but why would it do that? She glanced down, and to her surprise, the warmth she'd felt was not from any rushing of blood. It was from another hand. His hand.
She looked to his eyes, his beautiful blue eyes, and a slight smile pushed forth as she resisted all urges to hug him tightly in relief. Yet he didn't smile back. No. Instead he seemed somewhat… confused.
"Why did… you save me?" His voice was weak, almost impossibly so. She looked away, unable to meet his gaze any longer. For a long while, there was silence.
"Why did you betray all of Mizuho?" was her response, her gaze still averted, and her voice still holding a trace of bitterness. Zelos flinched slightly at her tone, but his answer was immediate.
"They threatened to take from me something that meant more than Mizuho, or anything else in Tethe'alla." He replied simply. 'What was it? His gold and jewels, perhaps? Probably. Or his hunnies. Yeah, that's probably it.'
"And what was that?" She demanded skeptically. He paused, obviously considering his reply. At last it came, a mere whisper.
"You."
Her eyes widened in surprise, and they jerked back to the redhead's, searching his gaze for any sign that he may be lying. Yet there was nothing there but a relief that just may have matched her own. He meant it. And if her heart wasn't soaring before, it sure was now.
"To answer your question," she started, choosing her words carefully, "Twice now I've failed those who depended on me. Those I cared about. I couldn't let that happen again…" Pausing, she took a breath, before putting her other hand on top of his. "I love you, Zelos."
Now it was his turn for surprise, though in his weakened state it wasn't as visible. After the shock wore off, he smiled. And so did she. His wish from Meltokio rang through his head, 'If only I could see her smile once more'. Wish granted. Then Rose's words, 'if she loves you, she will return to you.' Rose was right. Where had she gotten so wise? Zelos didn't know, but he was glad she had.
"I love you too, Sheena." His voice was stronger, for in her words she'd given him faith. He rose to lean on his elbows rather than flat on his back. She leaned down to meet him. And Sheena Fujibayashi and Zelos Wilder shared their first kiss.
(ITS OVER! GRAH! NOOOOO! I WANT MOOOORE. –falls over- Well… My email/MSN Messenger is my AIM is ArissaMay121. Feel free to contact me. Bye, everyone! )