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"Until the End of Forever"
By: Jade Lightning, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Chapter 9: “Her True Heart”

   The caravan of heroes would take some time to reach Jackie’s mansion, for her helicopter was much faster than their vehicles.  They also had to wait for the Celestial Emerald to pick up on the Chaos energy Mikomi carried; for now, it was the only hope they had of finding him and the others.

   As they traveled, the night moved on.  Kate, unable to sleep, snuck out of her room, making her way down the long twisting corridors of Jackie’s mansion, to find the bedroom where Mikomi was held with Amarie, Pyro, and Zachary, under no guard.  This would have made escape simple for them, were the doors not wired with silent alarms.  If the door was opened before a key code deactivated the alarms, Jacob would be on them in seconds to apprehend them.  This also worked for the door being opened from the outside, and would have prevented Kate from entering, had she not memorized the code while she watched Jackie punching it in the keypad by the door to activate the alarm that afternoon.

   Still, as she reached the bedroom door, Kate paused for a moment, apprehensive of going inside.  Amarie, she felt, understood why she had acted the way she did, and so she wasn’t as worried about Amarie spotting her.  However, she knew Pyro and Zachary were probably still angry with her from before, and they had every right to be.  The last thing she wanted was to walk in there, be spotted by them, and create chaos.

   But no…she simply had to help them; and that was just part of why she was here.  She was desperate to see Mikomi again.  What had happened before…she just couldn’t get him out of her thoughts.

   Taking a breath, she ran a hand through her hair and said, “No, I can’t turn back now.  I just…I need to help them somehow, and it starts with him, I know it.  Let’s just…get on with it.”

   Kate walked up to the keypad beside the door and quickly punched in the access code.  A green light signaled that the alarm was deactivated.  With a soft sigh, Kate opened the door slowly, the light from outside penetrating the dark room with a beam of warm light.

   With or without this light, she had sharp enough eyes to see the dim room before her.  Pyro and Amarie were sleeping in the bed furthest from the door, with Pyro on the side closest to it as he held her in his sleep.  Zachary was in a light sleep in the other bed, while Mikomi faded in and out of wake and sleep as he sat in an arm chair near the window.

    A weak smile appeared on her face.  She walked into the room, slowly shutting the door behind her, trying to be as quiet as she could.  However, as he sat drifting in and out of sleep, Mikomi was awake enough to hear the door close as it slipped into the frame.

   He opened his eyes and looked to the door, where he could see Kate start to turn around and walk into the room.  He was silent for a moment, watching her until she finally realized he was awake, and was well aware of her presence.

   She stopped, only feet away from him, almost embarrassed to be caught approaching him in this way.  She lowered her eyes, her ears folding back, pressing tightly against her pink hair, and whispered, “I—I’m sorry; I know I’m probably one of the last people you want to see right now.”

   Mikomi’s eyes widened.  He was unsure why she was going shy on him like this, but didn’t want her to feel that way.  He stood up and walked over to her.  He took two fingers, and placed them under her left cheek, gently raising her head so she would look up at him.  As their eyes met, Kate once again felt that feeling from before, only this time, it had nothing to do with some other worldly divinity.  This time, anything she felt, came either from the depths of his soul, or from her own heart.

   What she felt now, were the seeds of love starting to bloom.  Though she had only known him for a brief time, he had awoken the true heart within her.  She didn’t know it yet, but within Mikomi rested her twin soul.

   He smiled gently, shook his head and whispered, “Now what makes you think that Kate?”

   The area under Kate’s eyes flushed red.  She couldn’t look in him the eyes for the moment, when earlier it was a thing of unmeasured bliss.  She stammered a bit and replied, “I—I…after the way I talked to your sister earlier…and after punching Zachary…I…”

   “Whoa…come on now, that’s over and done with.  There’s no need to feel bad for that anymore Kate,” Mikomi replied, “The four of us have had a rough time sure, but so have you. …You did lose your mother after all.  The way it sounds, you had your entire life ripped out from under you.”

   With a soft gasp, Kate returned her gaze to his face once more, but only for a moment.  She lowered her eyes, unable to answer him.

   Mikomi’s heart went out to her, as he remembered how wonderful it was just to be able to remember his mother again, and hug her tightly.  He took her hand in his own and said, “That’s why you’re with Jackie…because she promised she’d help you find the people who killed her, even though she could tell you nothing about them and has spent more time on her own priorities rather than helping you.”

   When she wouldn’t answer him, he looked at her closer and asked, “Do you think I did it Kate?”

   This was enough to get a reaction from Kate in the form of a gasp and her eyes quickly returning to his face.  She saw him smiling at her, with a hint of weakness but more of concern for her.  She was shaking slightly; tightening her grip on Mikomi’s hand she shook her head in short jerks and replied, “How could you say that?  I—I thought that you were faking the sickness, but I never once thought that you killed my mother.”

   “You just thought I was the reason she was murdered right?” Mikomi asked.

   This time, Kate let out more than just a gasp.  She turned away from him, almost letting go of his hand had he not maintained his hold on hers.  A tear fell from her eyes, and hanging her head low, she whimpered, “Not the way you think I might have.  Jackie lied to me; she told me that she needed the Master Emerald to find who did it, but today she changed her story, saying that the people who killed my mother were looking for it and when they couldn’t find it they decided to spill blood instead.  This isn’t the first time she’s lied to me…I’m beginning to think there’s no truth behind anything she says.  If she’s willing to put the lives of a pregnant girl and her unborn baby in jeopardy, then who’s to say she was ever out to help me?  Not only did she brainwash my uncle, but…she is probably behind the death of my mother as well.  I’m just…so sickened that I ever gave her my trust.  I just…I had nowhere else to go…I still don’t.  I just wish I had my mother back…someone I knew I could turn to.”

   Her voice got softer and softer with each word, trailing off into silence, giving way to tears as she stopped speaking.  The brave and defiant face she showed to the world wasn’t the way she wanted to be.  She wanted nothing more than for things to go back to normal, a desire she shared with Mikomi.  However, unlike Mikomi, this was impossible for her; he had a chance to get his life back, while she, even if she got justice for her mother, would never have her shattered life restored to her.  It was this knowledge that made her feel lost, as if avenging her mother’s death was all she had to live for.  This was bitter for her to accept now that she realized she had most likely been serving the one responsible all along, bringing more pain to innocent victims who were free from the sentence life had given her.

   Mikomi let go of her hand, but only for a moment.  She saw this as her signal to leave, but before she could, she felt him put his arms around her, hugging her tightly, and holding gently.  He barely rested his head on hers, closed his eyes, and whispered, “You can come to me.  Even if you have no one else to turn to…you can come to me, I promise,” almost like she had promised him he could trust her earlier that afternoon.

   He was holding her so securely she couldn’t pull away, even if she wanted to.  Instead she half turned back to him, but instead of trying to turn to look up at him, she rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes for a moment, before glancing up at him.  He opened his eyes as well, and saw her looking at him.  He smiled and whispered, “You know…it’s okay to lean on me; that fatigue is gone for now…so I won’t fall or anything.”

   Kate managed a smile, and a weak laugh, before asking, “Mikomi…that sickness and fatigue…why are you like that?”

   The hybrid echidna chuckled softly and said, “Well…it’s a long story…but unlike Kashoku I’m better at keeping things brief.”  He thought of Pyro suffering through the story four times and let out another soft laugh before saying, “Basically, when I died, the Master Emerald’s power came with me to Heaven.  That made the seven chaos emeralds too weak to be used since their power source was gone, and so Kashoku brought me here to restore them.  He had every intention to bring me back with him…but for some reason, my body is trying to become mortal again.  I’ll get to stay here if that happens, but so far I’ve had occasional pain, sickness and weakness, and a terrible bout of amnesia.  Kashoku said once my memory came back completely, I would almost be completely mortal…and since my sister is the only person left for me to remember, I’m assuming that it’s almost finished.”

   Kate sighed and said, “Maybe that’s what I was seeing in your eyes…the part of your spirit that is tied to Heaven.  It must be wonderful there.”  She lowered her eyes, her thoughts returning to her mother again.

   Mikomi could sense this.  He gently pulled out of the embrace, long enough to turn her around so they were facing each other.  He looked at her and said, “I can’t remember Heaven, Kate.  I can’t even remember dying anymore, but what I can tell you, is that divine peace you were feeling…that’s only a taste of the peace that now cradles your mother’s spirit.  She’s always with you, because spirits, though they can’t be seen, can be by your side even if you don’t know it.  Just like Elianaron’s wife Hannah is almost constantly with him in spirit, I’m sure your mother has been there for you, and she won’t leave you.  Even when one day you settle into a happy life again, she’ll be watching you, and where she is right now, you can be sure she doesn’t need justice for dying, because not only is she surrounded by endless light, she knows that one day you’ll be with her again, and that’s all she needs.”

   On the verge of tears, Kate whimpered, “Oh Mikomi…”

   He pulled her into his arms again and added, “She also wants you to be happy Kate.  In light of that being all she needs, she doesn’t want you down here suffering because you can’t find who killed her.  She wants you to do your best to move on and live as well as you can until you two are reunited.  If you can do that, then that is enough.”

    Kate was weeping now, and as the tears fell from her eyes, she realized that what Mikomi said was right.  At the same time, she knew that her mother would want her to do the best she could to help others, and now Kate knew that she had to do everything in her power to help Mikomi and the others, so when Kashoku arrived they could stop Jackie.  That was what she needed to do now.

   Almost as if he was reading her thoughts, Mikomi whispered, “And remember, I told you that you could come to me when all this is said and done.  You’ll be alright Kate.  You won’t just help me and the rest of them…we’ll help each other.”

   After a few sniffs to stop the tears, Kate looked up at him and said, “I don’t know about all that…what I do know, is I won’t let Jackie keep you here.  I—I know all of the passcodes in this mansion, we can use them to get past the security.  We’ll be out of here in no time, then we can go to meet up with Kashoku and your family…I’m sure they’re already on their way.”

   She pulled away from Mikomi and started to walk over to Zachary to wake him up.  Mikomi paused for a moment, then said, “You know if she finds out you helped us like this she’ll destroy you the first chance she gets.”

   Kate looked back to Mikomi, her smile weakening, and replied, “She’s already destroyed enough of my life.  There’s nothing else left for her to do to me that will dissuade me from helping you.”

   Mikomi held his breath for a moment.  Kate was basically saying she had nothing left to lose; that stung at Mikomi’s heart, and yet he had little time to let it affect him.  Kate returned to waking up Zachary, who had fallen into a deeper sleep over the time she was in there.

   “C’mon you, why won’t you wake up?” Kate hissed.

   Zachary groaned softly, rolling over on his front and pulling the covers over his head, mumbling, “Five more minutes Kelsey…I have plenty of time to get in before my first appointment.”

   Although she was much calmer than earlier that afternoon, Kate was already getting annoyed with Zachary again.  She crossed her arms, growled softly and said, “Maybe we’ll just leave this one here…especially if he’s gonna treat me like this.”

   She glanced at him again, then without warning, she thrust her arm into his back, almost causing him to tip and fall out of bed, waking him up instantly.

   “Yikes!  What happened?!” Zachary cried in daze.

   Folding her arms again, she nodded and said, “That’s better you lazy bum.  Now get up and stay awake or stay here with Jackie.”

   Mikomi couldn’t help but laugh softly.  It was just too funny…poor Zachary, half-awake and half-frightened as he teetered on the edge of the bed, trying to regain awareness, with Kate, half-pouting and slightly annoyed with him.  He knew that she wasn’t trying to be mean to Zachary, even if she was upset with him.  He walked over to Kate and said, “Heh, take it easy on him Kate.  He’s had a hard past few days…we all have.”

   As she looked to him, Kate blushed again, and simply nodded, unfolding her arms and sitting down on the side of the bed.  Mikomi smiled at her, then turned to Zachary and said, “Hey Zac, try to wake up.  Kate’s gonna help us get out of here.”

   “Huh?” Zachary mumbled.  He rubbed his eyes, trying to make it easier to hold them open in defiance of being tired.  His vision finally cleared, and he could see Mikomi standing in front of him, before looking to his left, only to see Kate sitting near him on the bed, glancing at him for only a moment, before lowering her eyes to the floor, staring at the yellow crescents on Mikomi’s boots.

   “You…,” he murmured.  Looking back to Mikomi, he said, “Wait, she’s going to help us escape?  Whose side is she on?”

   Kate let out a soft gasp, looking at him, her eyes pale and soft, and replied, “I was on nobody’s side…only now, I’ve realized that I need to help you out.  I—I want to help you out.  In my heart, I know that’s the right thing to do.”  She looked towards the night sky outside, and added, “I’m sorry for not trusting you all at first…and for punching you like that…I just…since my mother died, nothing has made sense, and I was tired of waiting for things to get better, and took out frustration with anger.  I’ll do whatever I can to help you now…you can count on me.”

   After letting her words run through his mind for a brief second, Zachary smiled, nodded and said, “Aww, it’s okay.  I may not be a dentist, but I don’t think you did any real damage to my jaw or teeth…although I don’t doubt you could if you really wanted to,” with a laugh.

   She looked back to him, smiling a little stronger.  It seemed now that Zachary and Kate had made their peace; Mikomi looked on with a smile on his face.  He was thrilled that Kate was finally letting her true self shine through.  Everything was going great; they had rescued Kate, and now she was ready and willing to help them escape.  They would meet up with Kashoku and the others safely, recover Rouge’s chaos emerald, have them restored, and the nightmare would end.  Nothing could go wrong now.

   While Zachary and Kate reconciled, Amarie began to stir in the neighboring bed, but not because she heard their voices.  She stirred now for an entirely different reason…she felt…funny.  Something wasn’t right, and this time it wasn’t just a dream.  This time, something was very, very wrong.  It wasn’t the panic from a bad dream; this time, she felt…pain.  Terrible pain…unlike she had ever felt in her life…and it wasn’t going away.

   She tucked into as tight a ball as she could, placing a hand on her tummy, and clenching her eyes shut, and tried to avoid grinding her teeth as she held back a scream.  It was a terrible wave of pain, rolling through the nerves on her back and her belly and over her unborn child.  She could feel it move and kick in reaction to it, and in the same way, she too, could not restrain a reaction any longer.  As the wave finished its violent roll through her, her eyes finally flew open, and her voice could no longer remain silent to the strain.

   Starting with a distressed whimper, she shifted her position in bed.  This stirred Pyro out of his sleep, as well as her hand that he held in his own, suddenly breaking out into a cold sweat.  He rubbed his eyes with his free hand, before asking, “Amarie, what’s wrong?  Are you alright?”

   She struggled to look back at him, finally exhaling deeply once the worst was over, and cried, “No…no I’m not alright.  That really hurt Pyro…badly.”

   Pyro sat up beside her, looking at her in disbelief.  This caught the attention of Kate and Zachary, who were now standing, as well as Mikomi who had taken a few steps closer to her when he heard her cries.

   Zachary’s eyes widened and paled in horror.  He jumped across the neighboring bed, coming to a stop and kneeling down on the floor on Amarie’s side of the bed.  He took a breath, closing his eyes for a brief moment, and whispered, “Amarie…I think, maybe…you might be in premature labor.  My question is…did you break water just now?”

   Amarie looked to Zachary; one of her eyes was closed as she continued to cringe, unable to answer him…or, unwilling to answer him.  However, once Pyro heard Zachary say this, his own eyes widened in fear, not just for what he had said, but when he realized the fur on his legs was now damp.

   The look he gave Zachary in response was more than enough to answer his question.  Zachary lowered his eyes, only able to stare at the floor as he shook his head.  He whispered, “Dammit…,” under his breath, for this was something he and Kelsey were dreading for months now.  Amarie had already had trouble before, a near miscarriage and a terrible flu, and he and Kelsey had been praying it wouldn’t come to this.  It had come, and could not have come at a worse time.

   Kate walked up beside Mikomi, who looked on in disbelief; he was as aware of what was happening as any of them, and knew that Amarie couldn’t stay here any longer.  He turned to Kate and said, “Please, we have to get her out of here before it’s too late.”

   She nodded and turned to tell the others her plan, but before she could, “too late” came knocking in the form of Jackie, come to find Kate when she didn’t find her in her bedroom.

   “Jackie!” Kate cried.  This caused everyone, including Amarie to look to the door.  Jacob stood by her side, and Jackie didn’t look at all happy.

   She took slow, but graceful steps into the room, staring Kate down.  Once she towered over Kate and Mikomi, she let out a laugh and said, “My, my, Kate…don’t tell me you were about to help them escape now were you?  Don’t tell me this rotten hybrid creature has fooled you into loving and trusting him.”

   Mikomi growled softly, but Kate wasn’t going to fall for Jackie’s deceit anymore.  She let out her own soft growl, clenched her fists and said, “No Jackie!  You were the one that fooled me!  I don’t know who killed my mother, but I know that you are not out to help me, or anyone besides yourself!  You’re right, I was going to help them escape, because they don’t deserve to be harmed by your malice like me.  You have to let Amarie go!”

   Jackie looked over to the bed where Amarie lay; simply by the way Pyro held her and how Zachary was knelt beside her, holding her hand, she knew what this meant.  Her eyes widened; this was all a game for her.  She didn’t care who she was hurting, and the last thing she was going to do now was allow Kate to help them escape.  Only now, Kate was no better than the rest of them, another prisoner and enemy of her cause.

   Looking back to Kate, she laughed wildly, and cried, “Are you kidding me Kate?  The minute that fool Kashoku gets here with Sonic, Knuckles, and the chaos emeralds in tow, they’ll go insane!  I’ll use their own grandchild against them!  They’ll have no choice!  They can either give me the chaos emerald…or accept a dead grandchild in payment for their disobedience.”

   “No!” Kate cried out, “You can’t do that!  You just can’t!  What kind of heartless person are you?”

    Jackie sneered at Kate, lunging forward and grabbing hold of her, digging her long fingernails into Kate’s arms and said, “Why, I’m the evil girl who killed your mother Kate, and don’t you forget it.  I killed her for her glorious pelt, as well as for defying me and my greatness!  If those fools defy me, then the baby will die.  That’s all there is to it.  You’ll learn to obey me, I don’t care who I have to kill, even if it means they won’t get a chance to live, or in the case of Mikomi and Kashoku, will have their dirty souls lost to the void forever!”

   Kate was done fighting.  Hearing the lengths Jackie was willing to go to was bad enough, but the news that Jackie was the one who killed her mother, for her pelt and defiance, brought Kate to the edge of her will.  She felt faint, and because of this was unable to see the sleeves of her dress turn red with blood from where Jackie’s nails were digging into her skin.

   Fire erupted in Pyro’s eyes, as he realized Jackie was willing to let Amarie, and his baby die just so she could get her way, but remained silent, holding Amarie close and trying to comfort her, knowing yelling would do no good.  All he could do now was pray that something would happen.  Prayer it seemed, was all they could hope for.  “Please,” he thought, “Please don’t let this happen to my child…to my family.  Don’t let things go this way…not now.”

   Zachary growled softly, looking to Amarie and whispered, “You should have time Amarie.  If Kashoku and the others can get here fast enough, you should be alright…and so should the baby.  Just hang in there.”

   Amarie didn’t answer Zachary.  As much as she was praying for her baby, her thoughts turned to poor Kate, and Mikomi.  She saw that Kate had finally realized that they wanted to help her, and in turn she was ready to help them escape, only now to find out that it was this villainess before them that had killed her poor mother.  Amarie, as desperate a situation she was in now, wished so badly that Kate did not have to suffer this way under Jackie’s insanity.

   Mikomi was angry, and unlike Pyro and Zachary, wasn’t going to keep quiet about it.  He let out a scream, coming between Kate and Jackie, and pushed Jackie back, almost causing her to trip and fall on Jacob.  As she glared at Mikomi, he put his arms around Kate and said, “And don’t you even think about coming over here and beating on me.  If you were to ‘crack’ me now, the chaos energy would be lost forever.  One chaos emerald isn’t enough to contain it, so you might want to stop and think before you try hurting her again…or any of them.  I may be a prisoner, but I won’t stand for you hurting the ones I love.  I’ll respect you when you’ve earned it, got it?”

   Jackie said nothing; she simply glared at Mikomi, not really angry about him pushing her, as she was that he was defying her, and couldn’t kill him for it, as she had done with Olivia.  She had to wait for the other chaos emeralds before she could destroy Mikomi, but still wanted to punish him.  She cackled softly, shaking her head, and dissuading Jacob from attacking them, she reached for Mikomi, stroking his chin with the same nails that caused Kate to bleed, and whispered, “I deserve your respect wretch…you know why?  It’s because that baby of hers isn’t dead yet.  It’s because I’m not killing you all right here, right now.  In order to punish you for this insolence, you and Kate are coming with me.  She’s a traitor and will be locked up with you away from the rest of them.  They can rot here for all I care.”

   Kate continued to hold on to Mikomi, who growled softly, taking two steps away from Jacob as he approached them.  “I can walk on my own,” Mikomi hissed, “I wouldn’t run away without my sister and the others anyway.”

   “Hee hee,” Jackie laughed, “That’s just fine.  Now come with me.”

   She led Mikomi out of the room, who continued to hold Kate and walk her along with him as he moved, with Jacob following behind them.  Amarie did her best to sit up in bed, crying out, “Please don’t take him from me!  Please, you can’t hurt my brother like this!  You can’t!”

   “Amarie,” Pyro whimpered, holding her as closely as he could, while Zachary glared at Jackie.

   Jackie looked in the room one last time as she punched in the code to activate the alarm.  She looked at Amarie and shouted, “Quiet girly…just enjoy your labor and be glad I haven't killed that worthless child of yours.  I’ll do whatever I want to your brother, and if you don’t believe me, ask Olivia’s corpse!”

   She slammed the door shut after this, and Amarie, almost as if she was reliving his death ten years ago, let the tears flow, as she cried once more, “Mikomi…no, Mikomi.”

   “Oh Amarie,” Pyro cried softly.  He pulled her into a hug, then looked to Zachary and said, “How long do we have?”

   Zachary looked like he had had the life sucked out of him.  He looked to Pyro, putting on a brave face and said, “I’m not sure.  This is premature labor after all.  It looks like we have a little time though.  We’ll have to wait and time the contractions in order to be sure.  That’s all we can do right now.”

   He looked away from Pyro and said, “It doesn’t matter anyway.  Without Amarie we can’t restore the chaos emeralds.  What in the world are we going to do?”

   Pyro and Zachary could no longer speak, while Amarie, crying into her husband’s chest, whimpered, “Mom, Dad, please…you have to get here soon.  Please…you can’t let her hurt Mikomi.”  Even now…poor Amarie, was concerned more for her brother than herself.  She worried for her baby sure, but now it was Mikomi who was at the foremost of her concern.

   At this point, Jackie had shoved Mikomi and Kate into a smaller bedroom with a full-sized bed.  It was closer to her own bedroom, and had a silent alarm as well.  As an added measure, she put Jacob outside of it to stand guard.  The minute they tried to escape, he wouldn’t hesitate to attack them.

   Before she locked the door, she added, “So you’ll live for now cretins.  Maybe in here you can let this little love affair you’ve got going turn into the tragic romance it will be once I take over this world.  Hee hee, let’s see if that idiot Kashoku can save you now!  Good night!”

   As the door slammed shut, Mikomi continued to glare at it as if Jackie was still there…that is, until he heard the sound of crying.  He turned around to find that Kate now sat on the bed with her back to him, covering her face with both hands, trying to hide and muffle the tears.

   “Oh Kate,” Mikomi said with a sigh.  He ran to her, sitting beside her and said, “I’m so sorry…that has to be hard to hear…that she killed your mother for standing up to her…and even worse…for her pelt.  Don’t worry, we’ll make her pay for this.”

   Kate looked to Mikomi, tears pouring down her face, and yet she didn’t care about hiding them.  She shook her head and said, “It’s not just that.  Poor Amarie is in premature labor now, and she doesn’t care about them at all.  She’s willing to let things go wrong…she’s willing to let that poor baby die.  I’m just…so sorry Mikomi…”

   “What are you talking about?” Mikomi whispered.  Not getting a reply, he pulled Kate into another hug, recognizing a sudden outpour of affection for her, and thinking nothing of it.  It felt right in his heart…what didn’t feel right, was the fact that she took so much pain on her now bloody shoulders.  He rubbed her right shoulder gently and said, “Damn that woman…did she hurt you terribly?”

   Resting her head on Mikomi’s shoulder, she whimpered, “No…and I’m not worried about that.  I can’t complain about pain in my arms when Amarie just went into labor like that.”

   Letting out a sigh, Mikomi smiled, and replied, “Don’t worry about Amarie…she’s a strong girl.  She’s always been strong.  I remember that day Kelsey and I first went to Station Square and Uncle Hidama made her stay behind.  She looked so sad, but when we promised her we’d sneak her off the next day, she laughed and helped us cover our plan.”  He paused before continuing, not realizing that he was at last recovering his memories of his dear sister, the one he held closest to his heart.

   He added, “Even after everything went wrong, she stayed strong.  She was just twelve…she had lost her home, and faced losing her parents, and aunt and uncle, and yet she was ready to fight for what she loved.  She stayed in good spirits even when I went to pieces and hated the world.  Heh, poor Pyro wasn’t expecting her to raise a hammer to him though when he teased her…just like Mom might have done when she was younger.  I knew that she and Pyro would be good friends, and heck, all I do is ask him to look after her, and he ends up marrying her, and giving her a child.  She’s been through so much…I know she’ll be alright.  If their child is anything like they are, Pyro’s bravery and strength, and Amarie’s courage and endurance, it’ll be alright too, premature or not.  I’m sure of it, so don’t worry about them.  We’ll all be alright, I know it.”

   Kate slowly looked up at him, sniffed and said, “Mikomi…did you just remember Amarie when you said all that?  You certainly talked about her pretty confidently.”

   Mikomi was silent for a moment, thinking about this, and suddenly closing his eyes.  He could see all of his memories of Amarie coming back to him at long last, unlocked free  from his heart, flying back to his mind and awareness.  At long last, he had remembered everyone in his life.  His past was fully restored to them, his memories finally free.  However, he still had to continue the fight for life, for while his memories were restored, still part of him remained tied to Heaven.

   He opened his eyes, smiling strongly, as a lone tear fell from his eyes.  He looked to Kate and with a sound of awe in his voice, he whispered, “I do Kate…I—I remember my sister…I remember…Amarie!  I have my memories back…finally!”

   Kate smiled at him, and replied, “Oh Mikomi, this is wonderful!”

   Before he could reply however, he flinched as he felt the wave of sickness and fatigue roll through him once more.  His hold on Kate failed, and he slowly sank into her lap, unable to sit up anymore.

   She held on to him tightly, and cried, “Mikomi!  I—I thought when you regained your memory that you’d be mortal and alright again!  What’s wrong?”

   Though he felt faint and ready to sleep, Mikomi looked up at her and said, “No, this only means the process is almost over.  Kashoku said I’d know when it was done…but I was hoping he’d be able to tell me instead.”  Closing his eyes and holding on to Kate, he added, “The only way Kashoku can find us is by using the Celestial Emerald to track me.  I—I…if I sleep, the signal…won’t be…won’t be as strong.  He has to hurry…for Amarie, and everyone.”

   Mikomi went silent after this.  Kate brought one of her hands to his head, rubbing it softly, before moving to rub the back of his ear, and then ran her fingers through his hair.  She had stopped crying, but could feel her heart strangle under some new pain.  She was falling in love with Mikomi, and while she didn’t understand why she was so suddenly moved to care about him, she didn’t care.  She was ready to give her heart to him, but realized that first she needed to help him and his family and friends defeat Jackie.  She then thought of what Mikomi said about Kashoku tracking him, and with Mikomi falling asleep in her lap, she realized that the signal of chaos energy he was giving off was fading fast.

   She shook him gently, and cried, “No Mikomi!  You have to stay awake!  Please wake up…please…,” her voice trailed off into a whisper and a tear as she stopped shaking him, realizing he wasn’t going to wake up as he tried to sleep off the pain ravaging his body.  Slowly, she bent down, getting closer and closer to his head, before closing her eyes and kissing him on his brow, her tears falling down to his face as she did so.  She sat up half way after doing this, smiled weakly and murmured, “No…you go ahead and rest.  You can’t do it all…and I know that they’ll find us.  With a soul as strong as yours, Kashoku can’t help but find the chaos power…I know it.  Until then, I’ll look after you.”

   Kate closed her eyes for a moment, then gently pulled Mikomi up onto the bed with her so she could lean on the headboard and rest while still holding him in her lap.  She felt sleep overtake her eyes, and as she succumb to slumber, she whispered, “I love you Mikomi.”

   Miles away from the mansion, the world was still enveloped by the dark of night, lit faintly by only the moon and stars…that is, until the radiant and heavenly glow of the Celestial Emerald flew to expel the night.  It flew on its own power, as its creator Kashoku raced behind it, the family and friends of Mikomi, Amarie, Pyro and Zachary pushing their vehicles to high speeds to keep up with him.

   This was a bit easier for Jeremy and Amberly as they sped along on his relatively light motorcycle.  Over time, he had modified it to run better and faster than any other motorbike, and so for fun as they rode along, he zipped around the other three vehicles, including Aranelion’s truck, and Delilah’s and Zachary’s SUVs.

   As he sped past Zachary’s vehicle, now driven by Kelsey, she rolled down the window and shouted, “Darn it Jeremy!  This isn’t a joy ride!  Stop being so reckless!  You’ll kill us all if you keep this up!”

   “Woo hoo!” Jeremy shouted.  He looked to Kelsey and said, “C’mon Kelse…, I’m the best there is.  Everything’s cool!”

   Kelsey let out a growl, rolling up her window to block out the cheers of her cousin-in-law.  “I can’t stand him sometimes,” she muttered, recalling from before how he would constantly tease about why he had no children yet when in reality he did not have to struggle for one.

   Aries sat in the seat beside her, and said, “Don’t let him get to you Kelsey…he’s just got Elianaron in his blood.  At least he’s not as crazy as that.”

   “Sure, whatever,” Kelsey murmured.  She winced slightly, feeling dizzy for a moment, and taking a deep breath or two to shrug it off.

   Oliver, sitting behind Aries, noticed this, and said, “Gee, you look like you don’t feel well Kelsey.  Are you alright?”

   She looked back to him, and replied, “Heh, yeah, I’m okay.  I just haven’t been feeling too well the past few nights…it’s this new shift I have at work I’m sure.  I’ve been called in late at night so much recently I’ve felt like crap just about every morning since.  I’ll be alright.”

   Sonic, Tails, and Cream, were also riding along with the three.  Curious to see how far ahead Kashoku was, Tails rolled down his window and looked outside, where he, as well as Kelsey, Aranelion, and Delilah could see the Celestial Emerald’s light fading away, and Kashoku slowing down as a result.

   “He’s stopping!” Tails shouted.

   Stomping the floorboard with his foot, Sonic cried, “No man, he can’t be stopping!  We don’t have time to mess around and take our time!  Not while that witch has my son and grandchild!”

   Cream, who noticed how Sonic frequently referred to only his son and unborn grandchild as being in danger, frowned at him and said, “Settle down Sonic; Zachary, Mikomi, and Amarie are in danger too, and it is Amarie who’s carrying that grandchild after all.  Getting angry with everyone won’t solve anything.”

   Sonic looked to Cream, realizing she was right.  He flushed red in embarrassment, and let it go, falling silent.  Outside he may have appeared stubborn to admit it, but he did worry for Amarie, not just because she carried his first grandchild, but because at times she reminded him so much of Amy.  While he never developed a romance with Amy, he always cared about her to some degree, and would do whatever it took to keep her safe.  He passed these feelings on to his son, who did everything in his power to protect Amarie, and remembering that now, reminded Sonic of what was really important.

   Kelsey slowed the vehicle to a stop, finding she was the last one to stop their vehicle.  Aranelion’s truck tore up the ground underneath it as he slammed down on the brakes, his truck skidding in a half circle before stopping, being the closest to Kashoku giving him the shortest amount of time to react.  Hidama alerted Delilah quickly, and thus the slowdown was easy for her.  Kelsey managed a similar stop, while Jeremy’s motorcycle roared to a stop beside her.

   As everyone in the two SUVs got out of their vehicles, they, along with Jeremy and Amberly ran up to Aranelion’s truck; smoke was pouring out of the engine, and the rubber on the two front tires was almost completely gone.

   Hidama ran up to the driver’s side door; “Aranelion?  Are you alright?  Elianaron?  Camillia?  Answer me!”  Only Aranelion, Elianaron, Camillia, and Airelea were inside, and it wasn’t too terrible of an accident, but Hidama was desperate to get them out nonetheless.  He pulled hard on the door, expecting it to be locked, but fell backwards as it swung open easily.  Aranelion had pushed it open at the same time, jumping down out of the truck.  Camillia leapt out of the other side, while Elianaron followed Aranelion out holding Airelea tightly in his arms.

   “What happened?” Kashoku cried running back up to the group after recovering the dim Celestial Emerald.

   Aranelion coughed a bit to get his breath back, and as Camillia ran up beside him, he replied, “You barely gave me any warning.  You just…stopped running.  I lost sight of you for a moment, then when I saw you again you were standing still, and I had to slam on brakes.  I…I think I hit some sort of a ditch.  I could feel the front end of the truck leave the ground for a second before getting stuck in the dirt and the tires spinning themselves into uselessness.”

   Jeremy, who came back from looking under the smoking hood, shook his head and said, “Whatever happened, your brakes are damaged pretty badly, and without your front tires you won’t get anywhere.  I can fix your tires with your spare and one of the ones from the SUVs, but you’d have to drive on damaged brakes.  I don’t have the tools to fix them here, and trying to drive the truck back to town disabled like that is dangerous.  I could take Amberly and ride back to get what I need, but fixing it is gonna take some time…time I don’t think we have.”

   “Damn,” Aranelion muttered under his breath.

   “Aww Air, it’s alright.  You did the best you could,” Camillia said, trying to console him.

   Kashoku lowered his eyes, and said, “I’m sorry.  The Celestial Emerald lost power and fell to the ground, so I had to look for it.”

   Hidama looked at the Celestial Emerald.  It had not lost power completely, but did not have the same glow it did as it was tracking the Chaos Power.  Horrified, he asked, “Wait.  Does that mean that…the Celestial Emerald lost the signal?”

   Letting out a gasp, Amy cried, “No!  How could that be true?”

   The echidna king raised his hand, and said, “Please…let me explain.  The strength of the signal from the Chaos Energy is solely dependant on Mikomi’s strength.  Either he’s been injured somehow…or he simply could be sleeping.  Considering how late it is and how weak he’s been because of what his body’s been through, I’m assuming it’s the latter.  Besides, if he were hurt as badly as this, he’d probably be dead, and then I would have no signal at all.  I believe he is simply sleeping.”

   Amy let out a sigh of relief, before starting to cry again, turning to Knuckles for comfort.  As he hugged her, Knuckles looked to Kashoku and said, “So you’re telling me we have to wait for Mikomi to wake up until we can track them again?  That’s not acceptable!”

   Kashoku sighed, holding his head.  He began to feel his own fatigue, but unlike Mikomi it wasn’t his body trying to become mortal.  It was the exact opposite.  His soul was calling back to the afterlife.  He had not counted on being unable to help because he couldn’t stay long enough.  He would be better off going back at that moment.  Still, he could not do this.  He had sworn to protect his brethren and their loved ones.  He had to continue the fight…

   He looked up, seeing everyone looking at him.  He shook his head and said, “I think…that Jeremy and Amberly should go back to town so they can fix Aranelion’s truck.  The rest of us should forge onward, in the same direction.  The closer we get to Mikomi, the stronger the signal will be, even while he slumbers.”

   He walked up to Jeremy and said, “Use your chaos emerald to track the one I’ll leave with your father.  Once you make it back to them, and Aranelion’s truck is fixed, you can use the two chaos emeralds to track the power of the Celestial Emerald.  They may be weakened and unusable in battle, but they should have no trouble tracking the Celestial power, which is much stronger than Chaos Energy could ever hope to be.”

   “But Kashoku,” Elianaron asked, “I didn’t think the chaos emeralds would work without their wielders.”

   Kashoku’s amber eyes looked to him, and he shook his head.  “Sons of Armundae, the final captains of my house.  The wielders were chosen by blood tied to my own or the power I gave them to wield.”  Holding out the yellow chaos emerald, the one entrusted to Zachary, he said, “You are Zachary’s family.  Since it was activated by his hand, blood, and aura, then I’m sure it can survive on yours combined.  Guard it in his stead, so it may be a beacon for the green chaos emerald.  Return to me as soon as you can.”

   Aranelion took the yellow chaos emerald, and with Camillia, as well as Elianaron holding a sleeping Airelea nearby, the yellow chaos emerald’s weak glow returned.  Just enough of Zachary’s aura was in his parents, sister, and even his uncle, allowing it to come to life even without him.

   Kashoku smiled weakly, still feeling fatigued, but undeterred.  “Come,” he said, “The rest of us must continue onward.  Follow my lead; I do believe the Celestial Emerald shall rise to the sky soon enough.”  He looked to it and said, “Lead us to the Chaos Power, Celestial Emerald.  Made by my own spirit, it is your sister…lead us to it!”

   Slowly, but surely, the Celestial Emerald rose into the sky, and though faint, it managed to pick up on just enough of the chaos power to lead them onward.  As Jeremy and Amberly raced back to town on his motorcycle, the rest of them returned to their vehicles, save Kelsey, who for a brief moment stopped to see Kashoku’s fatigue.

   “Oh my,” she murmured, “Are you alright Kashoku?”

   He looked up, smiled and said, “I’d ask you the same question.  You look…slightly sick.  Have you been alright my dear?”

   She laughed and said, “Oh, it’s just these late hours at work.  I’ve been feeling like crap every morning because of it.  I’ll be okay.  I just hope Zachary is alright, the poor thing.  He has it hard enough.”

   Kashoku studied her for a moment, and suddenly a warm feeling enveloped his spirit.  He knew everything would be alright for Kelsey and Zachary…it already was…even if they didn’t know it, and so he decided to keep quiet, and let them find it out for themselves.  He placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “Be strong, daughter of Hidama, for everything will be alright.  Do not worry about me…my soul is just calling to Heaven.  I say we focus on saving them.  Let’s go.”

   Kelsey smiled, having made her peace with Kashoku and quickly becoming his friend.  She raced back to her SUV, and the two vehicles now followed Kashoku into the night.  They were so much closer to saving them, but still had much more left to come.

Description
"Until the End of Forever"
By: Jade Lightning, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Chapter 9: “Her True Heart”

   The caravan of heroes would take some time to reach Jackie’s mansion, for her helicopter was much faster than their vehicles.  They also had to wait for the Celestial Emerald to pick up on the Chaos energy Mikomi carried; for now, it was the only hope they had of finding him and the others.

   As they traveled, the night moved on.  Kate, unable to sleep, snuck out of her room, making her way down the long twisting corridors of Jackie’s mansion, to find the bedroom where Mikomi was held with Amarie, Pyro, and Zachary, under no guard.  This would have made escape simple for them, were the doors not wired with silent alarms.  If the door was opened before a key code deactivated the alarms, Jacob would be on them in seconds to apprehend them.  This also worked for the door being opened from the outside, and would have prevented Kate from entering, had she not memorized the code while she watched Jackie punching it in the keypad by the door to activate the alarm that afternoon.

   Still, as she reached the bedroom door, Kate paused for a moment, apprehensive of going inside.  Amarie, she felt, understood why she had acted the way she did, and so she wasn’t as worried about Amarie spotting her.  However, she knew Pyro and Zachary were probably still angry with her from before, and they had every right to be.  The last thing she wanted was to walk in there, be spotted by them, and create chaos.

   But no…she simply had to help them; and that was just part of why she was here.  She was desperate to see Mikomi again.  What had happened before…she just couldn’t get him out of her thoughts.

   Taking a breath, she ran a hand through her hair and said, “No, I can’t turn back now.  I just…I need to help them somehow, and it starts with him, I know it.  Let’s just…get on with it.”

   Kate walked up to the keypad beside the door and quickly punched in the access code.  A green light signaled that the alarm was deactivated.  With a soft sigh, Kate opened the door slowly, the light from outside penetrating the dark room with a beam of warm light.

   With or without this light, she had sharp enough eyes to see the dim room before her.  Pyro and Amarie were sleeping in the bed furthest from the door, with Pyro on the side closest to it as he held her in his sleep.  Zachary was in a light sleep in the other bed, while Mikomi faded in and out of wake and sleep as he sat in an arm chair near the window.

    A weak smile appeared on her face.  She walked into the room, slowly shutting the door behind her, trying to be as quiet as she could.  However, as he sat drifting in and out of sleep, Mikomi was awake enough to hear the door close as it slipped into the frame.

   He opened his eyes and looked to the door, where he could see Kate start to turn around and walk into the room.  He was silent for a moment, watching her until she finally realized he was awake, and was well aware of her presence.

   She stopped, only feet away from him, almost embarrassed to be caught approaching him in this way.  She lowered her eyes, her ears folding back, pressing tightly against her pink hair, and whispered, “I—I’m sorry; I know I’m probably one of the last people you want to see right now.”

   Mikomi’s eyes widened.  He was unsure why she was going shy on him like this, but didn’t want her to feel that way.  He stood up and walked over to her.  He took two fingers, and placed them under her left cheek, gently raising her head so she would look up at him.  As their eyes met, Kate once again felt that feeling from before, only this time, it had nothing to do with some other worldly divinity.  This time, anything she felt, came either from the depths of his soul, or from her own heart.

   What she felt now, were the seeds of love starting to bloom.  Though she had only known him for a brief time, he had awoken the true heart within her.  She didn’t know it yet, but within Mikomi rested her twin soul.

   He smiled gently, shook his head and whispered, “Now what makes you think that Kate?”

   The area under Kate’s eyes flushed red.  She couldn’t look in him the eyes for the moment, when earlier it was a thing of unmeasured bliss.  She stammered a bit and replied, “I—I…after the way I talked to your sister earlier…and after punching Zachary…I…”

   “Whoa…come on now, that’s over and done with.  There’s no need to feel bad for that anymore Kate,” Mikomi replied, “The four of us have had a rough time sure, but so have you. …You did lose your mother after all.  The way it sounds, you had your entire life ripped out from under you.”

   With a soft gasp, Kate returned her gaze to his face once more, but only for a moment.  She lowered her eyes, unable to answer him.

   Mikomi’s heart went out to her, as he remembered how wonderful it was just to be able to remember his mother again, and hug her tightly.  He took her hand in his own and said, “That’s why you’re with Jackie…because she promised she’d help you find the people who killed her, even though she could tell you nothing about them and has spent more time on her own priorities rather than helping you.”

   When she wouldn’t answer him, he looked at her closer and asked, “Do you think I did it Kate?”

   This was enough to get a reaction from Kate in the form of a gasp and her eyes quickly returning to his face.  She saw him smiling at her, with a hint of weakness but more of concern for her.  She was shaking slightly; tightening her grip on Mikomi’s hand she shook her head in short jerks and replied, “How could you say that?  I—I thought that you were faking the sickness, but I never once thought that you killed my mother.”

   “You just thought I was the reason she was murdered right?” Mikomi asked.

   This time, Kate let out more than just a gasp.  She turned away from him, almost letting go of his hand had he not maintained his hold on hers.  A tear fell from her eyes, and hanging her head low, she whimpered, “Not the way you think I might have.  Jackie lied to me; she told me that she needed the Master Emerald to find who did it, but today she changed her story, saying that the people who killed my mother were looking for it and when they couldn’t find it they decided to spill blood instead.  This isn’t the first time she’s lied to me…I’m beginning to think there’s no truth behind anything she says.  If she’s willing to put the lives of a pregnant girl and her unborn baby in jeopardy, then who’s to say she was ever out to help me?  Not only did she brainwash my uncle, but…she is probably behind the death of my mother as well.  I’m just…so sickened that I ever gave her my trust.  I just…I had nowhere else to go…I still don’t.  I just wish I had my mother back…someone I knew I could turn to.”

   Her voice got softer and softer with each word, trailing off into silence, giving way to tears as she stopped speaking.  The brave and defiant face she showed to the world wasn’t the way she wanted to be.  She wanted nothing more than for things to go back to normal, a desire she shared with Mikomi.  However, unlike Mikomi, this was impossible for her; he had a chance to get his life back, while she, even if she got justice for her mother, would never have her shattered life restored to her.  It was this knowledge that made her feel lost, as if avenging her mother’s death was all she had to live for.  This was bitter for her to accept now that she realized she had most likely been serving the one responsible all along, bringing more pain to innocent victims who were free from the sentence life had given her.

   Mikomi let go of her hand, but only for a moment.  She saw this as her signal to leave, but before she could, she felt him put his arms around her, hugging her tightly, and holding gently.  He barely rested his head on hers, closed his eyes, and whispered, “You can come to me.  Even if you have no one else to turn to…you can come to me, I promise,” almost like she had promised him he could trust her earlier that afternoon.

   He was holding her so securely she couldn’t pull away, even if she wanted to.  Instead she half turned back to him, but instead of trying to turn to look up at him, she rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes for a moment, before glancing up at him.  He opened his eyes as well, and saw her looking at him.  He smiled and whispered, “You know…it’s okay to lean on me; that fatigue is gone for now…so I won’t fall or anything.”

   Kate managed a smile, and a weak laugh, before asking, “Mikomi…that sickness and fatigue…why are you like that?”

   The hybrid echidna chuckled softly and said, “Well…it’s a long story…but unlike Kashoku I’m better at keeping things brief.”  He thought of Pyro suffering through the story four times and let out another soft laugh before saying, “Basically, when I died, the Master Emerald’s power came with me to Heaven.  That made the seven chaos emeralds too weak to be used since their power source was gone, and so Kashoku brought me here to restore them.  He had every intention to bring me back with him…but for some reason, my body is trying to become mortal again.  I’ll get to stay here if that happens, but so far I’ve had occasional pain, sickness and weakness, and a terrible bout of amnesia.  Kashoku said once my memory came back completely, I would almost be completely mortal…and since my sister is the only person left for me to remember, I’m assuming that it’s almost finished.”

   Kate sighed and said, “Maybe that’s what I was seeing in your eyes…the part of your spirit that is tied to Heaven.  It must be wonderful there.”  She lowered her eyes, her thoughts returning to her mother again.

   Mikomi could sense this.  He gently pulled out of the embrace, long enough to turn her around so they were facing each other.  He looked at her and said, “I can’t remember Heaven, Kate.  I can’t even remember dying anymore, but what I can tell you, is that divine peace you were feeling…that’s only a taste of the peace that now cradles your mother’s spirit.  She’s always with you, because spirits, though they can’t be seen, can be by your side even if you don’t know it.  Just like Elianaron’s wife Hannah is almost constantly with him in spirit, I’m sure your mother has been there for you, and she won’t leave you.  Even when one day you settle into a happy life again, she’ll be watching you, and where she is right now, you can be sure she doesn’t need justice for dying, because not only is she surrounded by endless light, she knows that one day you’ll be with her again, and that’s all she needs.”

   On the verge of tears, Kate whimpered, “Oh Mikomi…”

   He pulled her into his arms again and added, “She also wants you to be happy Kate.  In light of that being all she needs, she doesn’t want you down here suffering because you can’t find who killed her.  She wants you to do your best to move on and live as well as you can until you two are reunited.  If you can do that, then that is enough.”

    Kate was weeping now, and as the tears fell from her eyes, she realized that what Mikomi said was right.  At the same time, she knew that her mother would want her to do the best she could to help others, and now Kate knew that she had to do everything in her power to help Mikomi and the others, so when Kashoku arrived they could stop Jackie.  That was what she needed to do now.

   Almost as if he was reading her thoughts, Mikomi whispered, “And remember, I told you that you could come to me when all this is said and done.  You’ll be alright Kate.  You won’t just help me and the rest of them…we’ll help each other.”

   After a few sniffs to stop the tears, Kate looked up at him and said, “I don’t know about all that…what I do know, is I won’t let Jackie keep you here.  I—I know all of the passcodes in this mansion, we can use them to get past the security.  We’ll be out of here in no time, then we can go to meet up with Kashoku and your family…I’m sure they’re already on their way.”

   She pulled away from Mikomi and started to walk over to Zachary to wake him up.  Mikomi paused for a moment, then said, “You know if she finds out you helped us like this she’ll destroy you the first chance she gets.”

   Kate looked back to Mikomi, her smile weakening, and replied, “She’s already destroyed enough of my life.  There’s nothing else left for her to do to me that will dissuade me from helping you.”

   Mikomi held his breath for a moment.  Kate was basically saying she had nothing left to lose; that stung at Mikomi’s heart, and yet he had little time to let it affect him.  Kate returned to waking up Zachary, who had fallen into a deeper sleep over the time she was in there.

   “C’mon you, why won’t you wake up?” Kate hissed.

   Zachary groaned softly, rolling over on his front and pulling the covers over his head, mumbling, “Five more minutes Kelsey…I have plenty of time to get in before my first appointment.”

   Although she was much calmer than earlier that afternoon, Kate was already getting annoyed with Zachary again.  She crossed her arms, growled softly and said, “Maybe we’ll just leave this one here…especially if he’s gonna treat me like this.”

   She glanced at him again, then without warning, she thrust her arm into his back, almost causing him to tip and fall out of bed, waking him up instantly.

   “Yikes!  What happened?!” Zachary cried in daze.

   Folding her arms again, she nodded and said, “That’s better you lazy bum.  Now get up and stay awake or stay here with Jackie.”

   Mikomi couldn’t help but laugh softly.  It was just too funny…poor Zachary, half-awake and half-frightened as he teetered on the edge of the bed, trying to regain awareness, with Kate, half-pouting and slightly annoyed with him.  He knew that she wasn’t trying to be mean to Zachary, even if she was upset with him.  He walked over to Kate and said, “Heh, take it easy on him Kate.  He’s had a hard past few days…we all have.”

   As she looked to him, Kate blushed again, and simply nodded, unfolding her arms and sitting down on the side of the bed.  Mikomi smiled at her, then turned to Zachary and said, “Hey Zac, try to wake up.  Kate’s gonna help us get out of here.”

   “Huh?” Zachary mumbled.  He rubbed his eyes, trying to make it easier to hold them open in defiance of being tired.  His vision finally cleared, and he could see Mikomi standing in front of him, before looking to his left, only to see Kate sitting near him on the bed, glancing at him for only a moment, before lowering her eyes to the floor, staring at the yellow crescents on Mikomi’s boots.

   “You…,” he murmured.  Looking back to Mikomi, he said, “Wait, she’s going to help us escape?  Whose side is she on?”

   Kate let out a soft gasp, looking at him, her eyes pale and soft, and replied, “I was on nobody’s side…only now, I’ve realized that I need to help you out.  I—I want to help you out.  In my heart, I know that’s the right thing to do.”  She looked towards the night sky outside, and added, “I’m sorry for not trusting you all at first…and for punching you like that…I just…since my mother died, nothing has made sense, and I was tired of waiting for things to get better, and took out frustration with anger.  I’ll do whatever I can to help you now…you can count on me.”

   After letting her words run through his mind for a brief second, Zachary smiled, nodded and said, “Aww, it’s okay.  I may not be a dentist, but I don’t think you did any real damage to my jaw or teeth…although I don’t doubt you could if you really wanted to,” with a laugh.

   She looked back to him, smiling a little stronger.  It seemed now that Zachary and Kate had made their peace; Mikomi looked on with a smile on his face.  He was thrilled that Kate was finally letting her true self shine through.  Everything was going great; they had rescued Kate, and now she was ready and willing to help them escape.  They would meet up with Kashoku and the others safely, recover Rouge’s chaos emerald, have them restored, and the nightmare would end.  Nothing could go wrong now.

   While Zachary and Kate reconciled, Amarie began to stir in the neighboring bed, but not because she heard their voices.  She stirred now for an entirely different reason…she felt…funny.  Something wasn’t right, and this time it wasn’t just a dream.  This time, something was very, very wrong.  It wasn’t the panic from a bad dream; this time, she felt…pain.  Terrible pain…unlike she had ever felt in her life…and it wasn’t going away.

   She tucked into as tight a ball as she could, placing a hand on her tummy, and clenching her eyes shut, and tried to avoid grinding her teeth as she held back a scream.  It was a terrible wave of pain, rolling through the nerves on her back and her belly and over her unborn child.  She could feel it move and kick in reaction to it, and in the same way, she too, could not restrain a reaction any longer.  As the wave finished its violent roll through her, her eyes finally flew open, and her voice could no longer remain silent to the strain.

   Starting with a distressed whimper, she shifted her position in bed.  This stirred Pyro out of his sleep, as well as her hand that he held in his own, suddenly breaking out into a cold sweat.  He rubbed his eyes with his free hand, before asking, “Amarie, what’s wrong?  Are you alright?”

   She struggled to look back at him, finally exhaling deeply once the worst was over, and cried, “No…no I’m not alright.  That really hurt Pyro…badly.”

   Pyro sat up beside her, looking at her in disbelief.  This caught the attention of Kate and Zachary, who were now standing, as well as Mikomi who had taken a few steps closer to her when he heard her cries.

   Zachary’s eyes widened and paled in horror.  He jumped across the neighboring bed, coming to a stop and kneeling down on the floor on Amarie’s side of the bed.  He took a breath, closing his eyes for a brief moment, and whispered, “Amarie…I think, maybe…you might be in premature labor.  My question is…did you break water just now?”

   Amarie looked to Zachary; one of her eyes was closed as she continued to cringe, unable to answer him…or, unwilling to answer him.  However, once Pyro heard Zachary say this, his own eyes widened in fear, not just for what he had said, but when he realized the fur on his legs was now damp.

   The look he gave Zachary in response was more than enough to answer his question.  Zachary lowered his eyes, only able to stare at the floor as he shook his head.  He whispered, “Dammit…,” under his breath, for this was something he and Kelsey were dreading for months now.  Amarie had already had trouble before, a near miscarriage and a terrible flu, and he and Kelsey had been praying it wouldn’t come to this.  It had come, and could not have come at a worse time.

   Kate walked up beside Mikomi, who looked on in disbelief; he was as aware of what was happening as any of them, and knew that Amarie couldn’t stay here any longer.  He turned to Kate and said, “Please, we have to get her out of here before it’s too late.”

   She nodded and turned to tell the others her plan, but before she could, “too late” came knocking in the form of Jackie, come to find Kate when she didn’t find her in her bedroom.

   “Jackie!” Kate cried.  This caused everyone, including Amarie to look to the door.  Jacob stood by her side, and Jackie didn’t look at all happy.

   She took slow, but graceful steps into the room, staring Kate down.  Once she towered over Kate and Mikomi, she let out a laugh and said, “My, my, Kate…don’t tell me you were about to help them escape now were you?  Don’t tell me this rotten hybrid creature has fooled you into loving and trusting him.”

   Mikomi growled softly, but Kate wasn’t going to fall for Jackie’s deceit anymore.  She let out her own soft growl, clenched her fists and said, “No Jackie!  You were the one that fooled me!  I don’t know who killed my mother, but I know that you are not out to help me, or anyone besides yourself!  You’re right, I was going to help them escape, because they don’t deserve to be harmed by your malice like me.  You have to let Amarie go!”

   Jackie looked over to the bed where Amarie lay; simply by the way Pyro held her and how Zachary was knelt beside her, holding her hand, she knew what this meant.  Her eyes widened; this was all a game for her.  She didn’t care who she was hurting, and the last thing she was going to do now was allow Kate to help them escape.  Only now, Kate was no better than the rest of them, another prisoner and enemy of her cause.

   Looking back to Kate, she laughed wildly, and cried, “Are you kidding me Kate?  The minute that fool Kashoku gets here with Sonic, Knuckles, and the chaos emeralds in tow, they’ll go insane!  I’ll use their own grandchild against them!  They’ll have no choice!  They can either give me the chaos emerald…or accept a dead grandchild in payment for their disobedience.”

   “No!” Kate cried out, “You can’t do that!  You just can’t!  What kind of heartless person are you?”

    Jackie sneered at Kate, lunging forward and grabbing hold of her, digging her long fingernails into Kate’s arms and said, “Why, I’m the evil girl who killed your mother Kate, and don’t you forget it.  I killed her for her glorious pelt, as well as for defying me and my greatness!  If those fools defy me, then the baby will die.  That’s all there is to it.  You’ll learn to obey me, I don’t care who I have to kill, even if it means they won’t get a chance to live, or in the case of Mikomi and Kashoku, will have their dirty souls lost to the void forever!”

   Kate was done fighting.  Hearing the lengths Jackie was willing to go to was bad enough, but the news that Jackie was the one who killed her mother, for her pelt and defiance, brought Kate to the edge of her will.  She felt faint, and because of this was unable to see the sleeves of her dress turn red with blood from where Jackie’s nails were digging into her skin.

   Fire erupted in Pyro’s eyes, as he realized Jackie was willing to let Amarie, and his baby die just so she could get her way, but remained silent, holding Amarie close and trying to comfort her, knowing yelling would do no good.  All he could do now was pray that something would happen.  Prayer it seemed, was all they could hope for.  “Please,” he thought, “Please don’t let this happen to my child…to my family.  Don’t let things go this way…not now.”

   Zachary growled softly, looking to Amarie and whispered, “You should have time Amarie.  If Kashoku and the others can get here fast enough, you should be alright…and so should the baby.  Just hang in there.”

   Amarie didn’t answer Zachary.  As much as she was praying for her baby, her thoughts turned to poor Kate, and Mikomi.  She saw that Kate had finally realized that they wanted to help her, and in turn she was ready to help them escape, only now to find out that it was this villainess before them that had killed her poor mother.  Amarie, as desperate a situation she was in now, wished so badly that Kate did not have to suffer this way under Jackie’s insanity.

   Mikomi was angry, and unlike Pyro and Zachary, wasn’t going to keep quiet about it.  He let out a scream, coming between Kate and Jackie, and pushed Jackie back, almost causing her to trip and fall on Jacob.  As she glared at Mikomi, he put his arms around Kate and said, “And don’t you even think about coming over here and beating on me.  If you were to ‘crack’ me now, the chaos energy would be lost forever.  One chaos emerald isn’t enough to contain it, so you might want to stop and think before you try hurting her again…or any of them.  I may be a prisoner, but I won’t stand for you hurting the ones I love.  I’ll respect you when you’ve earned it, got it?”

   Jackie said nothing; she simply glared at Mikomi, not really angry about him pushing her, as she was that he was defying her, and couldn’t kill him for it, as she had done with Olivia.  She had to wait for the other chaos emeralds before she could destroy Mikomi, but still wanted to punish him.  She cackled softly, shaking her head, and dissuading Jacob from attacking them, she reached for Mikomi, stroking his chin with the same nails that caused Kate to bleed, and whispered, “I deserve your respect wretch…you know why?  It’s because that baby of hers isn’t dead yet.  It’s because I’m not killing you all right here, right now.  In order to punish you for this insolence, you and Kate are coming with me.  She’s a traitor and will be locked up with you away from the rest of them.  They can rot here for all I care.”

   Kate continued to hold on to Mikomi, who growled softly, taking two steps away from Jacob as he approached them.  “I can walk on my own,” Mikomi hissed, “I wouldn’t run away without my sister and the others anyway.”

   “Hee hee,” Jackie laughed, “That’s just fine.  Now come with me.”

   She led Mikomi out of the room, who continued to hold Kate and walk her along with him as he moved, with Jacob following behind them.  Amarie did her best to sit up in bed, crying out, “Please don’t take him from me!  Please, you can’t hurt my brother like this!  You can’t!”

   “Amarie,” Pyro whimpered, holding her as closely as he could, while Zachary glared at Jackie.

   Jackie looked in the room one last time as she punched in the code to activate the alarm.  She looked at Amarie and shouted, “Quiet girly…just enjoy your labor and be glad I haven't killed that worthless child of yours.  I’ll do whatever I want to your brother, and if you don’t believe me, ask Olivia’s corpse!”

   She slammed the door shut after this, and Amarie, almost as if she was reliving his death ten years ago, let the tears flow, as she cried once more, “Mikomi…no, Mikomi.”

   “Oh Amarie,” Pyro cried softly.  He pulled her into a hug, then looked to Zachary and said, “How long do we have?”

   Zachary looked like he had had the life sucked out of him.  He looked to Pyro, putting on a brave face and said, “I’m not sure.  This is premature labor after all.  It looks like we have a little time though.  We’ll have to wait and time the contractions in order to be sure.  That’s all we can do right now.”

   He looked away from Pyro and said, “It doesn’t matter anyway.  Without Amarie we can’t restore the chaos emeralds.  What in the world are we going to do?”

   Pyro and Zachary could no longer speak, while Amarie, crying into her husband’s chest, whimpered, “Mom, Dad, please…you have to get here soon.  Please…you can’t let her hurt Mikomi.”  Even now…poor Amarie, was concerned more for her brother than herself.  She worried for her baby sure, but now it was Mikomi who was at the foremost of her concern.

   At this point, Jackie had shoved Mikomi and Kate into a smaller bedroom with a full-sized bed.  It was closer to her own bedroom, and had a silent alarm as well.  As an added measure, she put Jacob outside of it to stand guard.  The minute they tried to escape, he wouldn’t hesitate to attack them.

   Before she locked the door, she added, “So you’ll live for now cretins.  Maybe in here you can let this little love affair you’ve got going turn into the tragic romance it will be once I take over this world.  Hee hee, let’s see if that idiot Kashoku can save you now!  Good night!”

   As the door slammed shut, Mikomi continued to glare at it as if Jackie was still there…that is, until he heard the sound of crying.  He turned around to find that Kate now sat on the bed with her back to him, covering her face with both hands, trying to hide and muffle the tears.

   “Oh Kate,” Mikomi said with a sigh.  He ran to her, sitting beside her and said, “I’m so sorry…that has to be hard to hear…that she killed your mother for standing up to her…and even worse…for her pelt.  Don’t worry, we’ll make her pay for this.”

   Kate looked to Mikomi, tears pouring down her face, and yet she didn’t care about hiding them.  She shook her head and said, “It’s not just that.  Poor Amarie is in premature labor now, and she doesn’t care about them at all.  She’s willing to let things go wrong…she’s willing to let that poor baby die.  I’m just…so sorry Mikomi…”

   “What are you talking about?” Mikomi whispered.  Not getting a reply, he pulled Kate into another hug, recognizing a sudden outpour of affection for her, and thinking nothing of it.  It felt right in his heart…what didn’t feel right, was the fact that she took so much pain on her now bloody shoulders.  He rubbed her right shoulder gently and said, “Damn that woman…did she hurt you terribly?”

   Resting her head on Mikomi’s shoulder, she whimpered, “No…and I’m not worried about that.  I can’t complain about pain in my arms when Amarie just went into labor like that.”

   Letting out a sigh, Mikomi smiled, and replied, “Don’t worry about Amarie…she’s a strong girl.  She’s always been strong.  I remember that day Kelsey and I first went to Station Square and Uncle Hidama made her stay behind.  She looked so sad, but when we promised her we’d sneak her off the next day, she laughed and helped us cover our plan.”  He paused before continuing, not realizing that he was at last recovering his memories of his dear sister, the one he held closest to his heart.

   He added, “Even after everything went wrong, she stayed strong.  She was just twelve…she had lost her home, and faced losing her parents, and aunt and uncle, and yet she was ready to fight for what she loved.  She stayed in good spirits even when I went to pieces and hated the world.  Heh, poor Pyro wasn’t expecting her to raise a hammer to him though when he teased her…just like Mom might have done when she was younger.  I knew that she and Pyro would be good friends, and heck, all I do is ask him to look after her, and he ends up marrying her, and giving her a child.  She’s been through so much…I know she’ll be alright.  If their child is anything like they are, Pyro’s bravery and strength, and Amarie’s courage and endurance, it’ll be alright too, premature or not.  I’m sure of it, so don’t worry about them.  We’ll all be alright, I know it.”

   Kate slowly looked up at him, sniffed and said, “Mikomi…did you just remember Amarie when you said all that?  You certainly talked about her pretty confidently.”

   Mikomi was silent for a moment, thinking about this, and suddenly closing his eyes.  He could see all of his memories of Amarie coming back to him at long last, unlocked free  from his heart, flying back to his mind and awareness.  At long last, he had remembered everyone in his life.  His past was fully restored to them, his memories finally free.  However, he still had to continue the fight for life, for while his memories were restored, still part of him remained tied to Heaven.

   He opened his eyes, smiling strongly, as a lone tear fell from his eyes.  He looked to Kate and with a sound of awe in his voice, he whispered, “I do Kate…I—I remember my sister…I remember…Amarie!  I have my memories back…finally!”

   Kate smiled at him, and replied, “Oh Mikomi, this is wonderful!”

   Before he could reply however, he flinched as he felt the wave of sickness and fatigue roll through him once more.  His hold on Kate failed, and he slowly sank into her lap, unable to sit up anymore.

   She held on to him tightly, and cried, “Mikomi!  I—I thought when you regained your memory that you’d be mortal and alright again!  What’s wrong?”

   Though he felt faint and ready to sleep, Mikomi looked up at her and said, “No, this only means the process is almost over.  Kashoku said I’d know when it was done…but I was hoping he’d be able to tell me instead.”  Closing his eyes and holding on to Kate, he added, “The only way Kashoku can find us is by using the Celestial Emerald to track me.  I—I…if I sleep, the signal…won’t be…won’t be as strong.  He has to hurry…for Amarie, and everyone.”

   Mikomi went silent after this.  Kate brought one of her hands to his head, rubbing it softly, before moving to rub the back of his ear, and then ran her fingers through his hair.  She had stopped crying, but could feel her heart strangle under some new pain.  She was falling in love with Mikomi, and while she didn’t understand why she was so suddenly moved to care about him, she didn’t care.  She was ready to give her heart to him, but realized that first she needed to help him and his family and friends defeat Jackie.  She then thought of what Mikomi said about Kashoku tracking him, and with Mikomi falling asleep in her lap, she realized that the signal of chaos energy he was giving off was fading fast.

   She shook him gently, and cried, “No Mikomi!  You have to stay awake!  Please wake up…please…,” her voice trailed off into a whisper and a tear as she stopped shaking him, realizing he wasn’t going to wake up as he tried to sleep off the pain ravaging his body.  Slowly, she bent down, getting closer and closer to his head, before closing her eyes and kissing him on his brow, her tears falling down to his face as she did so.  She sat up half way after doing this, smiled weakly and murmured, “No…you go ahead and rest.  You can’t do it all…and I know that they’ll find us.  With a soul as strong as yours, Kashoku can’t help but find the chaos power…I know it.  Until then, I’ll look after you.”

   Kate closed her eyes for a moment, then gently pulled Mikomi up onto the bed with her so she could lean on the headboard and rest while still holding him in her lap.  She felt sleep overtake her eyes, and as she succumb to slumber, she whispered, “I love you Mikomi.”

   Miles away from the mansion, the world was still enveloped by the dark of night, lit faintly by only the moon and stars…that is, until the radiant and heavenly glow of the Celestial Emerald flew to expel the night.  It flew on its own power, as its creator Kashoku raced behind it, the family and friends of Mikomi, Amarie, Pyro and Zachary pushing their vehicles to high speeds to keep up with him.

   This was a bit easier for Jeremy and Amberly as they sped along on his relatively light motorcycle.  Over time, he had modified it to run better and faster than any other motorbike, and so for fun as they rode along, he zipped around the other three vehicles, including Aranelion’s truck, and Delilah’s and Zachary’s SUVs.

   As he sped past Zachary’s vehicle, now driven by Kelsey, she rolled down the window and shouted, “Darn it Jeremy!  This isn’t a joy ride!  Stop being so reckless!  You’ll kill us all if you keep this up!”

   “Woo hoo!” Jeremy shouted.  He looked to Kelsey and said, “C’mon Kelse…, I’m the best there is.  Everything’s cool!”

   Kelsey let out a growl, rolling up her window to block out the cheers of her cousin-in-law.  “I can’t stand him sometimes,” she muttered, recalling from before how he would constantly tease about why he had no children yet when in reality he did not have to struggle for one.

   Aries sat in the seat beside her, and said, “Don’t let him get to you Kelsey…he’s just got Elianaron in his blood.  At least he’s not as crazy as that.”

   “Sure, whatever,” Kelsey murmured.  She winced slightly, feeling dizzy for a moment, and taking a deep breath or two to shrug it off.

   Oliver, sitting behind Aries, noticed this, and said, “Gee, you look like you don’t feel well Kelsey.  Are you alright?”

   She looked back to him, and replied, “Heh, yeah, I’m okay.  I just haven’t been feeling too well the past few nights…it’s this new shift I have at work I’m sure.  I’ve been called in late at night so much recently I’ve felt like crap just about every morning since.  I’ll be alright.”

   Sonic, Tails, and Cream, were also riding along with the three.  Curious to see how far ahead Kashoku was, Tails rolled down his window and looked outside, where he, as well as Kelsey, Aranelion, and Delilah could see the Celestial Emerald’s light fading away, and Kashoku slowing down as a result.

   “He’s stopping!” Tails shouted.

   Stomping the floorboard with his foot, Sonic cried, “No man, he can’t be stopping!  We don’t have time to mess around and take our time!  Not while that witch has my son and grandchild!”

   Cream, who noticed how Sonic frequently referred to only his son and unborn grandchild as being in danger, frowned at him and said, “Settle down Sonic; Zachary, Mikomi, and Amarie are in danger too, and it is Amarie who’s carrying that grandchild after all.  Getting angry with everyone won’t solve anything.”

   Sonic looked to Cream, realizing she was right.  He flushed red in embarrassment, and let it go, falling silent.  Outside he may have appeared stubborn to admit it, but he did worry for Amarie, not just because she carried his first grandchild, but because at times she reminded him so much of Amy.  While he never developed a romance with Amy, he always cared about her to some degree, and would do whatever it took to keep her safe.  He passed these feelings on to his son, who did everything in his power to protect Amarie, and remembering that now, reminded Sonic of what was really important.

   Kelsey slowed the vehicle to a stop, finding she was the last one to stop their vehicle.  Aranelion’s truck tore up the ground underneath it as he slammed down on the brakes, his truck skidding in a half circle before stopping, being the closest to Kashoku giving him the shortest amount of time to react.  Hidama alerted Delilah quickly, and thus the slowdown was easy for her.  Kelsey managed a similar stop, while Jeremy’s motorcycle roared to a stop beside her.

   As everyone in the two SUVs got out of their vehicles, they, along with Jeremy and Amberly ran up to Aranelion’s truck; smoke was pouring out of the engine, and the rubber on the two front tires was almost completely gone.

   Hidama ran up to the driver’s side door; “Aranelion?  Are you alright?  Elianaron?  Camillia?  Answer me!”  Only Aranelion, Elianaron, Camillia, and Airelea were inside, and it wasn’t too terrible of an accident, but Hidama was desperate to get them out nonetheless.  He pulled hard on the door, expecting it to be locked, but fell backwards as it swung open easily.  Aranelion had pushed it open at the same time, jumping down out of the truck.  Camillia leapt out of the other side, while Elianaron followed Aranelion out holding Airelea tightly in his arms.

   “What happened?” Kashoku cried running back up to the group after recovering the dim Celestial Emerald.

   Aranelion coughed a bit to get his breath back, and as Camillia ran up beside him, he replied, “You barely gave me any warning.  You just…stopped running.  I lost sight of you for a moment, then when I saw you again you were standing still, and I had to slam on brakes.  I…I think I hit some sort of a ditch.  I could feel the front end of the truck leave the ground for a second before getting stuck in the dirt and the tires spinning themselves into uselessness.”

   Jeremy, who came back from looking under the smoking hood, shook his head and said, “Whatever happened, your brakes are damaged pretty badly, and without your front tires you won’t get anywhere.  I can fix your tires with your spare and one of the ones from the SUVs, but you’d have to drive on damaged brakes.  I don’t have the tools to fix them here, and trying to drive the truck back to town disabled like that is dangerous.  I could take Amberly and ride back to get what I need, but fixing it is gonna take some time…time I don’t think we have.”

   “Damn,” Aranelion muttered under his breath.

   “Aww Air, it’s alright.  You did the best you could,” Camillia said, trying to console him.

   Kashoku lowered his eyes, and said, “I’m sorry.  The Celestial Emerald lost power and fell to the ground, so I had to look for it.”

   Hidama looked at the Celestial Emerald.  It had not lost power completely, but did not have the same glow it did as it was tracking the Chaos Power.  Horrified, he asked, “Wait.  Does that mean that…the Celestial Emerald lost the signal?”

   Letting out a gasp, Amy cried, “No!  How could that be true?”

   The echidna king raised his hand, and said, “Please…let me explain.  The strength of the signal from the Chaos Energy is solely dependant on Mikomi’s strength.  Either he’s been injured somehow…or he simply could be sleeping.  Considering how late it is and how weak he’s been because of what his body’s been through, I’m assuming it’s the latter.  Besides, if he were hurt as badly as this, he’d probably be dead, and then I would have no signal at all.  I believe he is simply sleeping.”

   Amy let out a sigh of relief, before starting to cry again, turning to Knuckles for comfort.  As he hugged her, Knuckles looked to Kashoku and said, “So you’re telling me we have to wait for Mikomi to wake up until we can track them again?  That’s not acceptable!”

   Kashoku sighed, holding his head.  He began to feel his own fatigue, but unlike Mikomi it wasn’t his body trying to become mortal.  It was the exact opposite.  His soul was calling back to the afterlife.  He had not counted on being unable to help because he couldn’t stay long enough.  He would be better off going back at that moment.  Still, he could not do this.  He had sworn to protect his brethren and their loved ones.  He had to continue the fight…

   He looked up, seeing everyone looking at him.  He shook his head and said, “I think…that Jeremy and Amberly should go back to town so they can fix Aranelion’s truck.  The rest of us should forge onward, in the same direction.  The closer we get to Mikomi, the stronger the signal will be, even while he slumbers.”

   He walked up to Jeremy and said, “Use your chaos emerald to track the one I’ll leave with your father.  Once you make it back to them, and Aranelion’s truck is fixed, you can use the two chaos emeralds to track the power of the Celestial Emerald.  They may be weakened and unusable in battle, but they should have no trouble tracking the Celestial power, which is much stronger than Chaos Energy could ever hope to be.”

   “But Kashoku,” Elianaron asked, “I didn’t think the chaos emeralds would work without their wielders.”

   Kashoku’s amber eyes looked to him, and he shook his head.  “Sons of Armundae, the final captains of my house.  The wielders were chosen by blood tied to my own or the power I gave them to wield.”  Holding out the yellow chaos emerald, the one entrusted to Zachary, he said, “You are Zachary’s family.  Since it was activated by his hand, blood, and aura, then I’m sure it can survive on yours combined.  Guard it in his stead, so it may be a beacon for the green chaos emerald.  Return to me as soon as you can.”

   Aranelion took the yellow chaos emerald, and with Camillia, as well as Elianaron holding a sleeping Airelea nearby, the yellow chaos emerald’s weak glow returned.  Just enough of Zachary’s aura was in his parents, sister, and even his uncle, allowing it to come to life even without him.

   Kashoku smiled weakly, still feeling fatigued, but undeterred.  “Come,” he said, “The rest of us must continue onward.  Follow my lead; I do believe the Celestial Emerald shall rise to the sky soon enough.”  He looked to it and said, “Lead us to the Chaos Power, Celestial Emerald.  Made by my own spirit, it is your sister…lead us to it!”

   Slowly, but surely, the Celestial Emerald rose into the sky, and though faint, it managed to pick up on just enough of the chaos power to lead them onward.  As Jeremy and Amberly raced back to town on his motorcycle, the rest of them returned to their vehicles, save Kelsey, who for a brief moment stopped to see Kashoku’s fatigue.

   “Oh my,” she murmured, “Are you alright Kashoku?”

   He looked up, smiled and said, “I’d ask you the same question.  You look…slightly sick.  Have you been alright my dear?”

   She laughed and said, “Oh, it’s just these late hours at work.  I’ve been feeling like crap every morning because of it.  I’ll be okay.  I just hope Zachary is alright, the poor thing.  He has it hard enough.”

   Kashoku studied her for a moment, and suddenly a warm feeling enveloped his spirit.  He knew everything would be alright for Kelsey and Zachary…it already was…even if they didn’t know it, and so he decided to keep quiet, and let them find it out for themselves.  He placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “Be strong, daughter of Hidama, for everything will be alright.  Do not worry about me…my soul is just calling to Heaven.  I say we focus on saving them.  Let’s go.”

   Kelsey smiled, having made her peace with Kashoku and quickly becoming his friend.  She raced back to her SUV, and the two vehicles now followed Kashoku into the night.  They were so much closer to saving them, but still had much more left to come.