JUST LOVE Chapter Six Ryudo's body shook violently and his heart raced. "Mel... Melfice? Is that really you?" he stuttered mentally. Skye flew towards Ryudo and rested on his shoulder. "What do you think?" "It can't be Melfice! He's dead!" Ryudo thought. The Geohound walked over to the tank and touched it with his hand. "Melfice... brother..." Ryudo did not know whether to cry or laugh. Seeing his brother again erased all the pain and memories of losing him at the Plateau of Memories. He wanted to laugh, he wanted to yell, he wanted the whole world to know his brother was alive. At the same time he was afraid, afraid that the person in the tank was not Melfice. "Ryudo!" Elena called out at the end of the hall. Ryudo did not respond, he just stared at Melfice. Melfice wore his silver armour, red cape, but his head gear with the gigantic horn was gone because it would not have fitted in the tank. Elena ran to the Geohound with the others behind her. "Oh, so you found him," Roan said. Ryudo was finally aware of the others' presence. "Wha... What?" Tio held a small book in front of Ryudo. "This is Zera's journal, we found it and it lead us here to Melfice." Ryudo frowned. "What?!" "The journal said that Melfice was hidden here but it did not say for what purpose or why," Tio replied. Millenia looked at Melfice closely and noticed how much he resembled Ryudo and how handsome he looked without his horned helmet. "I wonder what Zera did to him?" she thought. "So, the person in there is really Melfice. If that is Melfice, then who was the person that got possessed by the Horns of Valmar?" Roan asked. Ryudo unsheathed the Maken Valborg. "I don't know and I don't care! My brother is alive and that's all that matters to me right now!" The Geohound raised his sword in the air to strike the tank. "Ryudo, what are you doing?" Elena asked. "I'm going to set my brother free!" Ryudo answered. "Ryudo! Wait!" Tio cried. "The glass tank is a life support system. If you destroy it, you might kill Melfice too." Ryudo put his sword down. "How do we get him out of there then?" Tio walked over to a control panel beside the tank. "This system will deactivate the tank without endangering Melfice." "Is it safe to take him out of there? What if he attacks us when he gets out?" Millenia asked. Tio shook her head. "I do not think Melfice would attack us. He is no longer tainted by the Horns of Valmar." Tio pressed a bunch of buttons on the control panel and the machine stopped humming. The light blue liquid in the tank then drained out. The tank emitted steam as the hatch opened. "It is done." Ryudo took a deep breath and walked over to Melfice. "Brother?" Melfice did not answer. "He is still unconscious," Tio said. "We're taking him back to the inn then," Ryudo replied shortly. Ryudo took Melfice's arm and put it over his shoulder. Roan walked over to Melfice and put his other arm around his shoulder. "I will help you." Ryudo smiled at the Young King gratefully. "Thank you." The two then slowly took out Melfice from the glass tank. "Well, well, if it isn't Ryudo and friends," Gatta chuckled from behind. "Gatta!" Ryudo cried in surprise. Gatta narrowed his eyes at Melfice. "It looks like you found your big brother, yay." Gatta snapped his fingers and five Cathedral Knights entered the room. "Ryudo, you better escape with Melfice. We will take care of the enemy," Elena suggested. "What about you? I can't leave you here," Ryudo refused. "I will be fine. Millenia, Tio, and Lance are with me," Elena smiled assuringly. Ryudo shook his head. "No way! What if something happens to you?!" "Just go, okay?!! We can handle ourselves!!" Millenia snapped. "They will be fine Ryudo. Come on, let us go," Roan said. "All right, let's go," Ryudo agreed reluctantly. "Take care you guys." "Silver," Tio said and casted Howlslash on their enemies. The attack sent Gatta and the Knights flying to one side of the room. "This is our chance!" Roan said. Ryudo nodded in agreement and the two left the room with Melfice. Elena took out her Guardian Staff as their enemies recovered from Tio's attack. "Get ready." "Ha! You don't need to tell me!" Millenia snorted. She took out her Black Angel Bow and fired an arrow at one of the Knights. "DIE!" she hissed and hit the Knight's right arm. The Knight grunted in pain and dropped its sword. Tio ran towards one of the Knights and attacked it with her Angel Circle. "Critical Strike." The Knight dodged the attack and countered by punching the Automata on the stomach. He then punched her again on the head and hammered her back with his fist. Tio moaned out in pain and fell on the floor. "TIO!" Elena cried and immediately casted Healer on her. The Knight brought its leg up to squash the Automata. Tio looked up from the floor and jumped away just in time to avoid the Knight's foot. The Knight raised its sword to strike her down. "Hey, leave her alone!" Millenia hissed and hurled a Burn! spell at the Knight. She hit the Knight on the stomach and the blow knocked down the enemy. Tio saw a Knight advancing at Millenia and threw a Lotus Flower at it. The Knight flinched a bit but it gave the red head a chance to run back to give her more distance between her and her opponent. Millenia bent down to her waist and sprouted black wings on her back to finish the enemy off with Grudging Claws. "Hmm, fresh ground hamburger." Two Cathedral Knights attacked Lance at once. He ducked as one of them swung its sword forward. He took a step backwards and blocked a punch from the other with his Falchion. "I've waited a long time for this," he muttered and back flipped away. The Ninja glared ice cold daggers at his opponents and raised his katana into the air with both hands. The Falchion's blade glowed with a blue aura and the Ninja then slashed downwards. "Get ready! Dark Slash!" He fired two blue crescent projectiles with his Falchion. The attack hit his enemies' hands and knocked away their swords. "That's much better." He dashed forward with his katana held forward by both hands. When he was just about six feet away from his opponents, he vanished into thin air. The Knights scratched their heads in confusion and looked at each other. The two of them shrugged as if they were saying, "Where did he go?" "I don't know." Lance reappeared behind them. Quickly, he swept one of the Knight's legs to knock it down. He then plunged his katana into the other Knight's stomach as soon as it turned around to face him. He gave his opponent a mocking look and twisted his katana around to add more pain to his enemy. Lance withdrew his katana from its stomach and let it fall on the ground. He then walked over to the other Knight and put his left arm forward. His hand was aimed straight for its head and then fire emerged from his palm. "You're finished. Dark Flare!" he whispered coldly and a big ball of flame flew towards his enemy's head to silence it permanently. The Ninja then turned around just in time to receive a punch on the face from another Cathedral Knight. The attack sent the Ninja flying to a wall. "Damn, I can't take much more of this," he growled. Elena, Millenia, and Tio ran towards the Ninja. "Gatta has summoned more Cathedral Knights. We are out numbered," Tio said. Lance looked up. There were twelve Cathedral Knights in the room now. "I don't believe this," he thought. "We need to get out of here," Elena suggested. "I hate to say this, but she's right," Millenia agreed. The Cathedral Knights began to advance at Elena and the group. Each time they stepped forward, the group stepped backwards and were soon trapped in a corner. "What are we suppose to do now?" Tio asked. "Damn, I'd rather stay here and fight to the end but Elena... revenge will have to wait," Lance told himself mentally and took out a black sphere. He dropped it and as soon as it touched the ground, it exploded and smoke soon filled the room. "Let's get out of here," he said to the others in a low voice and ran to the exit with the others not far behind. Gatta coughed violently. "Go after them! Don't let them get away!" he growled. The Knights were unable to see anything and just bumped into each other when they tried to move. When the smoke finally cleared, Elena and the others were gone. Gatta snarled to himself and unsheathed his sword. "Shit!" he cursed loudly and threw his sword towards a Cathedral Knight. The sword pierced the Knight's chest and fell on the ground. *** Ryudo and Roan brought Melfice to the inn, in a separate room. Ryudo and Roan gently laid down Melfice on the bed. "Ugh, we finally made it," Ryudo sighed. "Thanks for paying for Melfice's room Roan." "Think nothing of it," Roan replied. "When do you think he will wake up?" Ryudo shook his head. "I don't know. His breathing and pulse are normal. What do you think is wrong with him?" "Do not worry Ryudo. I am certain he will wake up soon," Roan said. Ryudo pulled up a chair to the bed to watch over his sleeping brother. "Melfice, you've been alive all this time. I wonder what Zera did to you. Hmm, it doesn't really matter, you're alive and that's what counts. I can't wait for you to wake up. There's so many things I want to ask you and tell you about," he thought. The door in the room opened and Elena and company entered. "Elena!" Ryudo cried happily. "I am glad you made it," Roan smiled. "We just barely escaped," Tio said. Ryudo frowned. "What?!" "We were unable to defeat Gatta and the Cathedral Knights, they out numbered us," Elena replied. "How did you escape?" Ryudo asked. Elena turned to look at Lance. "Lance used a smoke bomb to help us get away." Ryudo got up from his chair and walked over to Elena. "I'm glad you made it back here safely." Elena cupped her hands together on her chest. "But what about Gatta?" "I don't know what possessed Gatta to do those kind of things but I intend to find out. When Melfice wakes up, I'm going back to Garlan," the Geohound answered. He walked back to his chair and sat down to watch over his brother again. There was a moment of silence in the room. Everyone just exchanged looks while Ryudo watched over Melfice. Elena did not know how to comfort Ryudo. The only thing she could do was to sympathize with him. He must be stressed out with Melfice back from the dead and with Gatta running around with the Cathedral Knights. Millenia had no intentions of speaking to Ryudo for now, she was still angry with him. Roan and Tio were too tired to say anything. Lance leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and with his eyes closed as if he was planning his next course of action. Skye was perched on the windowsill and thought how Melfice is going to be like when he wakes up. Ryudo noticed how quiet it got in the room and spoke, "You know, you don't have to stand there all night. Why won't you guys get some rest and I'll watch over Melfice." "No, we are staying with you," Roan protested. "No, you guys rest. You need it," Ryudo insisted. "What about you?" Elena asked. "I'll be okay." Elena nodded. "All right. If you need anything though Ryudo, just come and get us for help." "Thanks," Ryudo smiled and watched his friends leave the room. *** Five hours have passed and Melfice still did not wake up but Ryudo still watched over him. Not once did his eyes close, he watched over his brother like an eagle guarding its nest. "Melfice, when will you wake up?" the Geohound whispered to himself. Elena entered the room and walked over to Ryudo. "Ryudo, it's 5:00 AM and you are still awake!" she gasped. Ryudo slumped in his chair. "I can't sleep, someone needs to watch over Melfice. I need to be here when he wakes up." "I know that... but look at yourself, you look really tired and could use some sleep." "But what about my brother?" "Me and the others will watch over him. We'll come and get you when he wakes up, okay?" "I don't know..." Elena grabbed Ryudo's arm and tried to pull him off the chair. She was unsuccessful for he was too heavy for her. "Go to sleep Ryudo," she insisted. "All right, all right... geez," Ryudo grumbled and stood up. "You will wake me up when Melfice does, right?" "Correct. Now, go to your room," Elena teased and turned Ryudo around. Reluctantly, the Geohound walked all the way to the door and stopped. "Thanks Elena," Ryudo smiled. "Do not mention it. Sweet dreams Ryudo," Elena smiled back and watched Ryudo leave the room. Elena walked over to the chair and sat down. She watched Melfice for an hour and then Roan took her place. Tio replaced Roan when his shift was done while Skye and Lance were on the look out for Gatta and the Cathedral Knights. When another hour passed, Millenia took over. Millenia sat down on the chair next to Melfice's bed but she did not really watch him. Her thoughts were focused on Ryudo. He finally made a choice and it was not her. It hurt to learn that he loved little "Miss Prissy" more than her. It hurt to be rejected. It hurt not to be wanted. It hurt to be lonely. Ryudo was the only man she ever loved and he is gone. Why did Ryudo pick Elena over her? Most men would kill to have just a date with her. What did Elena have that she did not? They are the same person after all. "What is wrong... with me?" Millenia whispered to herself as tears threatened to flood her eyes. She then shook her head in protest and fought her tears back. "I'm not going to cry over Ryudo!" she told herself sternly. Millenia was obviously more glamorous, more beautiful, and has a better figure than Elena. So, why?! Why did Ryudo leave her? Ryudo's words then entered Millenia's mind. "I don't think it was love that I felt for you. I think it was guilt. I was always hard on you but you helped Elena save me from the Horns of Valmar. I guess I said that I love you at the Spring of Love because I didn't want to hurt you, not after what you've done for me. I love you Millenia but not like Elena... I'm sorry. I should have told you that before." Guilt. Pity. Ryudo thought he loved her because of that? "What am I suppose to do now? I'm all alone again..." The thought of being alone and the pain that plagued her heart came at her all at once. Millenia curled herself into a tight ball and buried her face in her hands. Tears slowly flowed down her cheeks and soft sobs escaped her lips. Melfice groaned in his "sleep" but Millenia did not hear it. He shifted a bit on the bed and caused the bed to creak. Millenia heard him move and wiped her tears away quickly. She sat up straight on the chair and composed herself. Melfice slowly opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Millenia, who just stared at him.