Chapter 7
120 seconds
She couldn't believe it, she wouldn't believe it. Hermione was down on her knees.
"I . . . . . I don't believe it. He's, he's, Kellach is . . . . . . . dead." Tears welled up in her eyes. She could hardly finish her sentence.
"Neji, go take Jake and Kellach to the ER immediately." Gasped Hermione, she could barely breathe. She felt sick to her stomach.
"We aren't loosing them, are we?" Neji asked Hermione quietly. Hermione viciously shook her head. Neji quickly picked up the bloodied corpses and rushed them out of the foyer. Hermione found herself shaking uncontrollably. She wrapped her arms around her chest to keep from shattering. She took a look around the foyer. It was a sea of red. The white tiled floor could barely be seen. The staircase was on fire. Sasuke then crawled up from the stairs. Hermione saw a deep wound in Sasuke's stomach.
"Oh my god!" cried Hermione. She held her hand to her mouth and screamed.
"Shhh, shhh, I'm fine." Sasuke grunted.
"You have a freaking hole in your stomach!!" Cried Hermione in hysteria. She took out her wand and shouted, "Apiski!" The wound began to sew itself shut. The cut was still there, but it wasn't life threatening anymore.
"I'm sorry, that's all I can do for now," Hermione said quietly, "Is Shadow and Knuckles ok?"
"They both are only slightly bruised and burned. They are fine. Let's go see Jake and Kellach." Sasuke then walked up to the staircase, walking along the hole. At the top of the stairway balcony laid two very cut up girls.
"Damn, this is bad." Sasuke cursed. He lifted the limp Amy and Arya from the floor. They each had yellow kunais sticking out of various areas.
"What happened?" Amy said in a daze.
"We lost, horribly." Hermione said defeated.
"What happened?" Arya sat right up, but regretted it as a twang of nausea ran down her body.
"Come with us," Sasuke said quietly.
Hermione Sasuke, Amy and Arya passed by Aang. He was still unconscious. They had Amy take him to the infirmary to help rid him of Paralysis. On their way to the ER, they passed by Shadow.
"Hey guys, so is Axel and the others gone?"
"Yeah they are." Hermione answered.
"What's wrong?" Shadow asked Arya.
"We have some casualties." Sasuke said.
"Who?" Shadow demanded.
"Well, we have a lot of injuries you see. And I'm afraid. . . . . . . Jake is dead." Hermione quickly bit her lip. It was the wrong thing to say. She could see by Shadow's facial expression.
"What?!" Shadow's eyes watered. He shouted.
"Let's head to the ER, Kellach isn't doing so good either." Said Sasuke as the 4 now ran to the infirmary.
Hermione, Aang, Shadow, Neji, Sasuke, Knuckles, Amy, and Arya were beside Jake and Kellach's operating tables. The robot doctors were doing the best they could with Jake. Jake had lost way too much blood. He was going to die for certain.
"Shadow. . . . . ." Jake spoke very weakly to his best buddy.
"What is it Jake?" Pleaded Shadow. His face was white as a ghost. This very well may be Jake's last words.
"I'm gonna miss ya buddy, even though I never beat you at killer Bunny. . . ."
"Oh and fanboys, I'M NOT GAY!"
Jake then forever closed his eyes. Those were the last words he spoke. His heart beat slowed.
"Beep, beep, beep, BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. . . . . . . . . ."
Hermione's heart sank. Salty water droplets fell from her eyes. Sasuke's eyes were wet, but he didn't cry. The others had a solemn look on their faces. The same couldn't be said for Shadow. Shadow was at Jake's bedside, bawling.
"My buddy's really gone!!" Shadow cried. His sadness quickly turned into anger, "I'LL KILL HIM!! I'LL KILL MARLUXIA!" Shadow was crying in blind rage. Hermione then walked up to Jake, she held his head in her arms. Hermione kissed Jake's forehead.
"I'm gonna miss you Jake. We all will." Hermione said through silent tears.
Hermione then walked over to Kellach's bedside. By the look of things, things weren't doing pretty good for him either. He was going to die. The doctors said that he had two minutes to live.
"Hermione. . ." Kellach breathed, "I don't have much time, life without a heart isn't rewarding. . . . ." Kellach laughed half heartedly.
"Even on your. . . . . . your deathbed you are still making jokes," Uttered Hermione with a faint glimmer of shallow joy.
"Kellach," Began Hermione, "I still didn't give you your birthday present. . . . ." said Hermione. She sat on his bed. She then lay right beside him. She put her arms around his half-dead body. She put her warm hand against his icy cold cheek. And she kissed him. Kellach held her, and their lips were locked together for those last 120 seconds. The two were crying.
"I'm never going to see him again. . . ." Thought Hermione, her tears falling like rain. It was the essence of passion. Those two minutes felt like two years. Finally, the clock chimed. Kellach lips went cold. His breathing was shorter.
"Kellach?" Hermione gasped.
"I. . . . . . love you . . . . . . . Hermione." Said Kellach with a smile on his face.
"Bury me in the courtyard,"
"I'm not burying you anywhere. You aren't dying on me!" Hermione said frantically.
"Hermione. . . stay strong." And he spoke no more. His eyes were open, lifeless and cold.
"No, don't; no don't die on me please!!" Oh god!! Kellach!! Don't die!!" Hermione was crying in hysterics. The others rushed in to see her. Hermione was in an uncontrolled fit of sadness. The robot doctors rushed in.
"Please Ma'am we need to remove his body.
"DON"T YOU LAY A DAMN FINGER ON HIM!!" Screeched Hermione as she whipped out her wand and encased herself and Kellach in an icy dome. She whipped her wand and sliced the robots apart.
"SECTUMSEMPERA!"
"CRUCIO!!"
"CRUCIO!!"
"AVADA KEDAVRA!!" Hermione screamed and killed the robots beyond compare. Hermione was in a blind rage. She stared at her friends in blind frenzy. Everyone backed away from her.
"DON'T COME NEAR HIM!!" She screamed to the others. She held Kellach's dead body in her arms.
"Oh Kellach!!" She sobbed. Everyone else left the room; they were brushing the slight tears from their eyes. Hermione stayed with Kellach all night.
"He's gone, forever. . . . ."
It was Dawn. It was drizzling slightly. There were a group of people all dressed in black. They were in the courtyard standing over two open graves. In the front were Shadow, Neji, and Hermione. Amy, Arya, and Sasuke in the back. Neji was comforting Hermione. Aang was up in front of the open graves. He was a monk so he was doing the ceremony.
"Bring them in," Aang said sadly. A group of men in white carried two ivory coffins towards the open graves. As this was happening, Amy Arya and Hermione all broke down. Hermione cried on Neji's shoulder, Arya on Knuckles, Amy on Sasuke. Shadow was the only one with dry eyes. The graves were now filling with dirt. No one could hear Aang speaking.
Shadow leaned over to Neji's ear and whispered,
"If I get my hands on that Marluxia, I swear I will show no mercy on him." Shadow said curtly. The three of them stood there in utter silence. A slight breeze blew through their hair.
"Let's go," Neji said solemnly. The group then left the courtyard in silence; their hearts were even heavier than before.