Hey guys, Jeff here!

So, I do apologise if this story is a day late than usual, but its because I had some stuff that I need to be taking care off (mainly school work), I guess time wasn't on my side; but at least, I have finished writing this chapter.

Damn, this chapter though is a long one, so I hope you guys enjoy :D

Without further ado, let's get to reading...


(With Ash and Serena that night in his room)

Ash sighed. He waited for Serena to wake up at some point. He hasn't given up at all, even though he has been waiting very long for her to wake up. How long has it been he's waiting for? Around thirty minutes? An hour? No, it's probably more than that, he's sure of it. He's lost the track of time at this point, since all he could do right now is watching Serena in her deep sleep. He knows the reason why, why she is lying here in his room, his bed in silence; how he is beside her right now, waiting for her to at least show a hint to him if she is ever going to wake up. All he can do right now is hope that he could wake up now, open her eyes, see that smile that he adores seeing and eventually everything will be back to normal.

Ash clenched his fists. He couldn't get over how it was his own fault that Serena has ended up like this. I mean, he couldn't be blamed by everything that has happened, since it was also Drew's fault that Serena is in this condition; however, Ash still can't take most of the guilt off himself, since he was partly to blame. He knows though that he shouldn't take all of the blame; but still, he can't get the fact off his head – that he harmed her, that he didn't do what he was supposed to do, that he didn't do his job properly, that he didn't get to protect her at that point in time. He wants to admit himself as a failure, but he knows that he shouldn't really call himself that, but still…

Still though, actually, he doesn't really know what happened to Serena after that moment when it happened. He can vaguely remember, but at least Drew filled him in with the details after when, apparently, things then calmed down in his end…

(Flashback; a few hours ago; Ash's POV)

"S- Serena!" I shouted.

At that moment, I dashed as quickly as possible to where Serena was. It seemed as though she isn't even expecting the attack coming towards her, since she is actually looking away from it, which leaves me with the impression that Serena was actually looking for me, probably because I haven't come home yet, which was a mistake in my part, since things are going to go from bad to even worse. To be honest with myself, now is not really the time to think about all that and who is to blame, since if I don't make Serena get out of the way; I know that I won't forgive myself from what happened. Even though I am facing the impossible by trying to outrun an attack of mine, I still need to face that chance of actually saving her. I'm going to protect her no matter what the cost.

At that moment, whilst I was still running towards her, Drew then called out to me and then tackled me down towards the ground. I don't know why he had done that, but this meant that I couldn't then save Serena from the attack that is hurtling towards her at a breakneck speed. All I could do right now was just watch Serena get hit by that attack, how I couldn't do anything and just watched the horror of Serena getting hit. I was powerless. I was helpless. I couldn't do anything right. I couldn't save her. I couldn't do anything for her. The most important of all, the most important thing and job that has been entrusted to me was to protect her. From here on, all I could do is watch as Serena gets hit by that Thunderbolt attack.

At that moment, there was a large explosion, a massive explosion as a matter of fact since the recoil was felt by Drew and myself, but then again, we were kind of close to where the explosion took place; however, it was obvious where that explosion came from and how it formed. It was the point when the attack hit Serena. There was no doubt about it, there's no other explanation about the explosion happening other than it hitting Serena directly. On the other hand, since there is the smoke from the explosion blocking the way, Drew and I still couldn't see if Serena is safe. I hoped she is, because if not, I couldn't forgive myself, but also, I couldn't take Serena getting hurt by it. I am the one who will be to blame for this incident; but first…

I turned to Drew, who was lying next to me. "D-Drew! What was that for?! Why did you stop me?!"

Drew jolted. "Huh? You're asking why?! Well, it's to save you! That's why!"

I stood up and clenched my fists. "I'm gonna repeat myself once more… why did you stop me for?! Don't you dare say it's because it's to save me!"

Drew then stood up in front of me. "Don't get angry with me, Ash! You knew that you couldn't make it in time, you knew that you couldn't save Serena at that point; but what did you do? You still went, even though there is no chance that~"

I banged my sword into the ground as lightning crackled in the background. "Even though I know there is no chance for me saving her, I can at least try to save her rather than not doing so! It's much better trying and risking my life over it, rather than doing nothing and feeling guilty afterwards!"

Drew dropped his sword and grabbed my shoulders. "But still… but still, I couldn't just do nothing whilst I watched you go off like that. I couldn't stand by and watch my friend get hurt too~"

I laughed. "You say that, but… why didn't you do something about it, huh?! Serena's your friend too, right?! Why couldn't you do something for her? Or maybe…"

Drew pointed his sword at me. "W- What is it, Ash?! What are you thinking of?"

I lifted my head up and made eye contact. "Or is it because you still feel guilty about what happened long ago? How you were powerless too that you couldn't do anything to save your own friend~"

Fire started circling Drew's blade once again. "Don't you dare mention it!"

I laughed. "How you then couldn't accept that your friend was killed that time! How you couldn't forgive yourself! How you wanted revenge afterwards!"

Drew shook. "Ash! Don't you dare~"

I smiled. "Yeah… you went for the other option… the one that you didn't do anything about it! I see now… you feel guilty about it… so it is true…"

Drew shook and nearly dropped his sword. "That's not true… no, I don't accept it… that's not true…"

"You can't accept it, can't you?" I continued. "Now, you know how I feel, how you stopped me and made me do nothing in return or at least try to do something!"

Drew dropped his sword in the ground. "Why… why now… I- I don't understand… what… h- how…"

I lifted my sword off the ground and pointed it at Drew. "I said to you to not get in my way, but you still did! I was trying to protect her… trying to keep her safe, but you then stopped me, so now you will pay!"

At that point, I pointed Aetherius up into the sky and then the Nimbus Dragon returned back towards the clouds and into the thunderstorm above us. At that moment, electricity started pouring into the sword as lightning was absorbed by my own sword once again, which then made the blade of my sword light up too, as indicated by the mysterious writing glowing once again that has been etched into the blade. After that, I pressed the blade of my sword towards the ground and then electricity was then released in masses, surrounding the area and even made the ground go uneven. From what I can tell, it was the same attack that I released on Trip last time, but this time, it has more power and has even become destructive.

On the other hand, I then saw that the smoke from the explosion was clearing; therefore, I could then see and check if Serena's all right. This then made me lose focus on my attack on Drew, which proved himself lucky as a direct and full on hit with the attack could have proven fatal, but it seems that I managed to at least immobilise him. As I dashed off once again in Serena's direction, I wondered if she was okay, if she's not hurt. I wanted to see as soon as possible that she isn't hurt, that she is okay, that she is still fine. I wanted to know.

When the smoke eventually cleared fully, I immediately stopped heading towards Serena and looked upon what I saw. I expected to see Serena somewhat lying on the floor, probably unconscious, but at least she is still all right and all that; however that's not what I saw. I stared for a moment at what I was seeing. It was not the one that I expected to see at all, not one bit. What I saw was a spectacle of power. I saw, with my own two eyes, was Serena standing in the middle of a tornado. I also saw her holding something in her right hand, most likely a weapon. Wait a minute, is this Serena's power? Is she bringing out the power of her sword? Does that mean that her sword type is 'wind'? I was told that she does possess a sword, but I didn't imagine this one.

As of now, I didn't know what to do. Do I approach her or do I just stay where I am right now and watch as the power of the tornado that she is creating gets stronger? Why is it getting stronger though? By the minute, it's getting even more destructive seeming as though the circle of the tornado keeps getting larger in size and how the wind speed is also increasing in the area. What should I do? Should I approach her and stop her? Well, when I get to the point that I can reach her, what should I do then? Talk to her and calm her down? It seems that what triggered her power is the attack that was launched onto her. It seems as though the attack was blocked as the sword was activated and then the wind deflected the Thunderbolt attack, which means that Serena is safe, but I know that she won't be if I don't do anything.

At that moment, something else is happening. It seems that the tornado is absorbing the wind surrounding the area and that it is charging some sort of attack. From what I can witness, the tornado just keeps getting larger in size, but the destruction that is inflicting upon the area is growing less, so it means that there will be a sudden burst of wind that will be coming. At that point, I then decided to take some shelter by placing a protective field around myself and also Drew, since he could potentially get hurt even more and end up in a worse state that he is in right now. I braced myself and prepared for the worst.

As the wind stopped, the tornado then burst and sudden massive gushes of wind was inflicted into the whole area, and it even shattered some glass on some windows on the main building of the school. I didn't know that Serena's power can be this destructive. I mean, my power is powerful enough, but her power is even more powerful than mine, or maybe because she is not controlling it. It seems that she isn't even conscious when she gave out that attack by looking at her. It seems that the sword was the one that is controlling her, so it would make sense if her power would be more destructive than it is, because she is not controlling it. No matter though, as the winds simmered down, I then rushed into her aid and picked her up and then carried her in my arms to my house, where I could then make her rest…

(Flashback ends)

(Ash's POV; with Ash and Serena that night in his room)

After we went through that ordeal, after I have taken Serena home and into my room and laid her in bed, I couldn't do anything else but wait and see if she is going to wake up anytime soon. I know that I should have saved her, but looking back at it now, I knew that Drew made somewhat a smart decision on my behalf, but I still made a big deal out of it and made him sort of angry. I guess I should apologise to him when I see him next, but for now, I guess my main focus is Serena.

Seriously though, I don't know what I should do now. I guess I'll be waiting here for her to wake up, but the problem is when will that time come? I don't know if she is going to wake up anytime soon after many hours have passed. I mean, I know she will eventually wake up, but when is that? No matter though, because I will wait for her until then, I will not leave her side until that happens. I promise that I won't leave her and that's final, I'm sure of it. To be honest, when I picked her up after she sent out that gushes of wind from the tornado she had built up, it's safe to say that she was entirely exhausted after releasing that attack, so you can't really blame her for not waking up just yet. Maybe, she might not even wake up this evening, but hopefully tomorrow morning she will…

Serena shook me. "Ash? Hey, Ash! Wake up."

I immediately woke up, and leaned back too much on my chair and caused me to fall over. "Huh? Wait, what? Why am I on the floor?"

Serena giggled. "Oh, you happened to be sleeping on me, so I had to wake you up."

I scratched the back of my head. "Oh, really? Sorry about that. I didn't even realise. I guess I was exhausted after what happened~"

Serena laughed. "Don't worry about it, because it is kinda late… actually; it's the middle of the night right now."

I laughed. "I see… wait, Serena?! You're awake!?"

Serena smiled. "I guess so. Why do you ask?"

I sighed. "Never mind that, you didn't know what happened~"

At that point, Serena leaned towards me and then, from when I wasn't expecting it, she gave me a peck on the cheek. This then made me blush, but also made me feel relieved. Wait, why do I feel relieved for that? More importantly, I should be asking myself as to why she kissed me on the cheek like that all of a sudden. I don't understand why, but it somewhat makes me feel really glad and overjoyed. Not mainly because Serena is now awake and I know that she is now okay, but the fact that she kissed me like that. I'm sure she has got her reasons.

Serena blushed. "D- Don't get me wrong… I did it; because I wanted to… do it… it's my way of saying thanks for staying by my side…"

I blushed madly. "Wait, did you know what happened and all that~"

Serena nodded whilst blushing slightly. "Not all, but I was still conscious when I remembered you picked me up from the ground and carried me home… that was nice of you, Ash."

I sighed. "I'm sorry, Serena. I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you. I'm sorry I wasn't there to take care of you and make you worry about me~"

Serena shook her head and then smiled. "That's fine, Ash. You were there, weren't you? You made sure that I was okay and took me home, right?"

At that moment, I then leaned closer to Serena and then gave her a hug. This time, it was Serena's turn to blush instead of me. What is this feeling I'm having in my heart? It's not something I have felt before; it's something that is unknown to me. Is this the feeling that I have felt all this time? It's making my heart beat faster than normal and it looks like it's the same with Serena too. All I know for now is that giving Serena that hug, that gentle hug, gave me hope and courage to keep fighting for her; but also, it gave me this warm and tender feeling – a feeling that made me want to stay with her and bring her comfort. A feeling like no other.

I sighed. "Hey, Serena. When I'm with you, I definitely feel a lot better, how things from my past don't matter to me. I feel a lot stronger too, how being with you brings me comfort and keeps me strong."

Serena smiled. "And when I'm with you, I feel that I am at home, that someone else cares about me, that someone else accepts me as who I am. I also ignore what has happened in the past and make me want to move on."

I smiled. "I promise that we stay together, until we work out what's happening and what's going to happen between us."

Serena smiled with a sort of tear in her eye. "It's a promise."

As time passed, we don't know how long, but we just spent the rest of the night staring into the moonlit sky and looking at the stars that were shining above the sky. We saw how quiet it was outside, how you can't hear much at all except the occasional passing of a car on the road just beyond us. As we held hands, we spent moments with one another gazing into the night as we treasure these moments that we spend with one another before eventually going to rest for the night…

'Serena, I'll always be there to protect you.' I thought. 'I will always be there for you.'

'I promise to support you and follow you until the end.' Serena thought.


There you have it, guys! Chapter 21 is done! Hopefully you have enjoyed this chapter! :D

Wow, what can I say from this chapter! The saying goes with "All's well that ends well" and it seems that is the case for this chapter! What next you may ask? Well, I guess you have to find out next chapter on what will happen between Ash and Serena. What future will hold for this couple? ;D

Anyways, I'll see you all in the next chapter, but also please put your thoughts of this story in the reviews! Please show some support!

But also Private Message me for any story suggestions!

Also, please check me out on Twitter at jeff_amour if you can for updates of my stories!

So, that's it from me!

See ya! Have a great day!