Fan Fiction ❯ Love and War ❯ Self Pity ( Chapter 7 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Tari Helyanwe 
They blame themselves for what is happening to everyone else. But is it really necessary in the end?
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.03.2005 | Pages: 6 | Words: 5.1K | Visits: 159 | Status: Completed
They blame themselves for what is happening to everyone else. But is it really necessary in the end?
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.03.2005 | Pages: 6 | Words: 5.1K | Visits: 159 | Status: Completed
Self Pity
I know I took long with these updates, but I had finals to think about, and now that I'm home, the internet is sparse...and slow (stupid dial-up). I hope this makes up for my hiatus.
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&n bsp; "Shouldn't we collect our money now?" Kogashi asked as they walked back to the village. Jatar rubbed his chin in thought. Taylin was busy munching on her beloved sweet snack. Yosha was just...being himself.
"Yeah, that's a good idea. We need to get started on where this copier demon came from." Jatar stated.
As they reached the village, the villagers were already gathered around the group. Taylin addressed the villagers first.
"Good villagers, we have slain the horrid demon for you--"
"Now pay up!" Yosha added. Kogashi growled at him.
"SHUT UP YOU MANGY MUTT!" A staring contest broke out between the two.
"HEY!" Both looked at Taylin. "Be nice." They received a glare from her in warning. They continued to growl low at each other. Taylin sighed. "I'll talk to you both later." She turned back to the villagers.
"For compensation, we require a fee for our services."
"We are mercenaries doing good deeds for payment. Think of us as hired goons, but nicer." Jatar added. "Much nicer."
"A fee of..." Taylin leaned toward Jatar and began to whisper to him. "What should we charge, Jat-kun?"
"Uh...yes....um..."
&nbs p; "Such a way with words..." Taylin gave her an exasperated look. The villagers, however, began to get restless.
"Come on, Jatar! We gotta go kill stuff! SPEED IT UP!" Yosha growled. Jatar turned towards him with a menacing look.
"SHUT UP AND HEEL!" Yosha brutally hit the ground with a loud 'thud'. Taylin turned back towards Jatar.
"Any suggestions?" she asked.
"Well, for this demon, and all the hell it put me through last night, how about one hundred srallod."
"Each. Person." Taylin added. Jatar turned towards her.
"No. In total. I'm not that greedy." All three mouths dropped to the ground.
"HUH?!" they all said.
"Jat-kun! That makes it...twenty-five srallod for each person. For all that crap?!" Taylin asked. Jatar began to think.
"You're right." Taylin breathed a sigh of relief.
&nbs p; "That's too much." Taylin's eyes went wide, along with Yosha and Kogashi. "How about twenty srallod? That's about five for each person." Jatar stated.
"WHAT?!" Kogashi stated.
"JATAR!" Taylin chided.
"What now?!"
"We went through all that hell for that...that...THING!" she pointed out.
"First you say I'm too expensive, now you say I'm too cheap! Which one?!"
"YOU'RE TOO CHEAP!" The group shouted at him. They glared at him as well.
"Fine! Five hundred srallod." He glares back at the group. "Is that good enough?"
Taylin gave him a sweet, innocent look. "Yes, that's much more adequate."
"Geez milk them for all they have." he grumbled under for his breath.
"We could..." Yosha got an evil glint in his eye. The villagers got nervous at his gesture.
"Oh so now we're pirates?!" Jatar exclaimed.
"Look, just take the payment so we can find out where that demon came from." Taylin said. Jatar took the fee and turned to see Taylin stuffing her face full of cookies.
"Here we go again..." They all headed out to the village, while Taylin was skipping behind.
"Gff mpht fftf!" Taylin's mouth was full of cookies. Jatar looked at her strangely.
"Aren't you happy." Taylin suddenly stopped and looked at something that caught her view.
"You see that?"
"Aye." Jatar answered.
"What's that?" Jatar looked at where she was pointing, while she munched on yet another cookie.
"Looks like a trail." Taylin rolled her eyes.
"I know that. I meant what kind of trail."
"Oh. Sorry."
"Can't you trace where it comes from?" Taylin asked, munching.
"Geez, stop eating those things or you'll kill yourself." Jatar chided.
"I'm sure they won't." Taylin put away her sweet snack reluctantly for safe measure.
'I hope not...' Jatar thought to himself.
Taylin began to stare out into the forest, while Yosha and Kogashi began to rough house a bit. Jatar began fiddling with his mask. As Jatar finished, he walked back over to the group. He looked out where she was staring.
"Let's see. If you're looking at the trail, then it should be heading southwest from here." Jatar explained. Taylin kept staring out into the forest, not paying attention to what he just said. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Tay-chan, are you...okay?" His voice was filled with worry for his friend.
Taylin blinked and looked up at Jatar. "Oh, I was just thinking. What did you say?"
"I said the trail points southwest from here." He repeated.
&n bsp; "Then we should get going, right?" Taylin smiled and headed in that direction. Kogashi and Yosha followed her, looking a bit scruffed up.
'Sometimes you worry me, Tay...' Jatar thought, as he too followed.
"If we're heading in the direction where that copier demon came from, shouldn't we prepare ourselves?" Everyone looks at Kogashi. "I mean, if there are more demons like the one we fought, we're in trouble."
"He has a point." Taylin stated. Jatar placed his sheathed Kitutsu blade on his shoulder.
"But the way you performed last night, we should be just fine." He said more to Taylin than anyone else. Everyone looked at her and nodded. Taylin just blinked her eyes in confusion.
"...me?"
"Yeah you. You kick the shit out of that thing!" Taylin blushed at the comment.
"Thanks, I guess. But Kogashi and Yosha put their lives on the line,too. They should get credit as well."
"It wasn't much work." Kogashi had a smug look on his face, as did Yosha.
"Oh, right. Mr. Bigshot who was the first one who got creamed." Jatar nudged Kogashi in emphasis.
"HEY! It's not like the mangy mutt did any better!"
"WHAT?! I'll make you eat your words, you little turd!"
"And I'll make you both eat you words!" Jatar added.
"And I'll make you both eat dirt if you don't shut up!" Taylin glared at the bickering canine demons. They both eeped in response.
"Way to go Tay!" Jatar boasted. Taylin smiled in response. She then turned back to Yosha and Kogashi.
"Listen you two, we have to get along somehow. We can't be at each other's throats all the time. Especially now."
"Why not?" Yosha asked.
"It's...just pointless. For my sake, please try to get along."
"Fine." Yosha asked. Kogashi was a bit confused and Yosha raised his eyebrow at him. "What's up with you?" Kogashi just blinked. Yosha rolled his eyes.
"Whatever." He continues walking with the rest of the group.
"Dumbass mutt..." Kogashi says under his breath.
"Stupid turd..." Yosha said under his breath. Taylin was busy skipping next to Jatar, who seemed uncomfortable with her being so close to him.
"Are we there yet? I'm running out of cookies."
"I think so. And stop eating them so quickly!" he smiled at her. He looked ahead as he continued to walk, but noticed that Taylin hadn't stopped her skipping.
"How come you're skipping so close, Tay?" he asked nervously. Taylin stopped her skipping, and began walking normally.
"Oh, sorry. I just don't want to get caught up in their bickering. Don't want to hurt them." Jatar laughed lightly at her response.
"That's a valid excuse." Jatar looked around. "We should be here now." The group stopped and looked around.
"It seems spooky." Jatar looked at her in disbelief.
"It's just a bunch of dead trees." he stated.
"Yeah, spooky." Yosha shook his head in amusement, as did Jatar and Kogashi.
"Okay." He began to switch through all of his vision modes. "Nothing seems to be here."
"We should set up some sorta camp to prepare ourselves. We've been walking a while now. It's almost dark." Kogashi suggested.
"Sounds good. I'll go get some firewood." Jatar raced off into the woods and began chopping down a massive tree. The others began to unpack what belongings they had. Taylin yawned. Yosha walked over to her.
"Tired?" Taylin looked up and gave Yosha a sheepish grin.
"Yeah. I need sleep."
"I think we all do." Taylin nodded in agreement with his response. They could hear a tree falling over in the distance. Taylin slipped into her sleeping bag.
"Tell Jat-kun that I'm going to get some sleep...or at least try to."
"Sure." Taylin closed her eyes and instantly fell asleep.
*******DREAM SEQUENCE********* (AN: there will be times when reality and the dream will mix together. Hopefully I won't confuse you too badly.)
"This necklace was your father's. He would have wanted you to have it. Maybe he'll even come back for it, and you, someday." Her mother smiled down at her as she placed the necklace around her daughter's neck. The little girl looked down at the necklace with the multicolored stone.
"Really? Woudl papa really come back?" The little girl looked up at her mother in horror. There was an arm protruding from her chest.
"Ma-mama?!" Ukaran's body made itself known behind her mother. Taylin began to toss around in her sleep, which didn't go unnoticed by Yosha.
"Now you're mother is free." An maniacal chuckle resonated throughout the little girl's body.
"No..." Taylin said outloud in her dream. She began to stir violently.
"MAMA!" the little girl cried out.
"Tay-chan?!" Yosha knelt over to her
*********END DREAM SEQUENCE*********
"NO!" Taylin bolts awake. Yosha grabbed her shoulders to steady her. She was heavily panting and shaking.
"Damnit all..." she said under her breath. They both hear Jatar coming back to their camp. "Yosha, don't say anything...please." He reluctantly nods.
"So what are you up to?" Jatar drops a half ton of firewood onto the ground, causing it to tremble a bit.
"Uh...j-just trying to g-get some sleep." Taylin buried herself underneath the covers and pretended to be asleep. Yosha went back to his spot.
'How come I sense something's being hidden from me?' Jatar thought to himself. He began to arrange the firewood for their campfire.
'I hate...lying to.......him...' Taylin drifted back to sleep.
After setting up the firewood, he transformed.
"Flame Shot!" A small spark of flame lit the firewood. He transformed back and smiled at his work.
*******DREAM SEQUENCE*********
"BRING ME THE LIFE ANGEL!" Ukaran clutched the mother's throat tightly. "OR ELSE SHE DIES!"
"Who are you?! What are you doing to my mother?!" the young girl asked desperately. Cold sweat began to form on Taylin's head.
Ukaran looked at the young girl. "I want to see you true potential. I have an offer for you."
"Please don't hurt my mother! She's all I have..."
"Then this should be simple for you." Ukaran replied. Taylin began to stir more in her sleep. Jatar looked over at Taylin.
"Tay..."
"Kill the village children, and I will set your mother free." Ukaran tightened his grip on the mother's throat."
"Don't...want...to..." Taylin said outloud. Jatar walked briskly to her side. He began to wipe away the sweat the covered her forehead.
"Tay-chan, what is it?!"
The young girl's eyes went wide. "You can't be serious!" She then saw the grip he had on her mother's throat.
"...mother.." Taylin takes out her sacred blade and grabs a child nearby. She looks into those innocent eyes of the young boy she held a grip on.
"I'm....sorry." The sound of children screaming and begging could be heard.
*********END DREAM SEQUENCE*********
"TAY! WAKE UP!" He began to shake her, though not violently.
"ARA NO!" Taylin bolts awake, almost knocking Jatar back. Taylin looks around her surroundings while trying to catch her breath.
"So this is what you didn't want me to know." Jatar looked at the shaking form of his close firend. She looked away and didn't respond. "Tay, look at me. What is the matter with you?"
"...nothing."
"Tas." It was clear in his voice that Jatar was becoming more agitated.
"I said I'm fine!" Yosha and Kogashi looked on. Yosha felt the most guilt at the moment.
"No you're not! If you were fine you wouldn't wake up every night screaming like a banshee!" Taylin gasped at Jatar's statement and looked down.
"I...don't know what you're talkng about." she said in a tiny voice.
"I think you do. And you're in on it too,Yosha, aren't you?" Jatar turned towards Yosha, who was clearly surprised. Jatar pointed to his ear. "I have good hearing."
"It's not his fault! I...told him not to say anything." Taylin defended. Jatar looked back at her.
"I know. But why did you keep this from me?" Jatar's eyes showed true worry for her, which Taylin saw, and made her feel even more guilty for keeping it from him.
"I...didn't want you to worry more."
"I worry more when I know something is wrong, but I don't know what it is." He wiped away a tear that ran down her face.
"I shouldn't have to make good friends worry about me..." Taylin said in a quiet voice. Kogashi stepped forward.
"What exactly is going on here?" Everyone turned toward him.
"You don't know?" Taylin asked. Kogashi shook his head. Jatar remained quiet. "Well, in short, the sword Jat-kun gave to me carried a curse. I may or may not survive it."
"What?!" Everyone saw how Kogashi's eye twitched. The anger was boiling inside of him as his right eye kept twitching with fury.
"Kogashi, please don't be angry!" Taylin pleaded. Kogashi turned his angry gaze to Jatar.
"Is this true?" Jatar kept his face rigid and didn't answer.
"He thought the curse wouldn't effect me!" Kogashi brought his gaze to Taylin.
"That still doesn't give him the right to give it to you on a guess! He might as well let you die!" Jatar's eyes went from surprise to pure anger.
"Kogashi! Don't say such a thing! He would never--" her sentence was cut off by Kogashi's lightning quick dash towards Jatar.
"SCREW THIS!" Kogashi made an effort to attack Jatar, who didn't budge from his spot.
"KOGASHI! PLEASE STOP!" Taylin pleaded. Jatar grabbed Kogashi by his throat and lifted him up at least three inches off the ground and met his gaze with unparalleled fury.
"Don't make me hurt you, Kogashi. You have one mighty fine skull, which I don't want to remove, but just keep pushing..." Jatar said through gritted teeth.
"Please stop..." Taylin whispered. Jatar must have heard her plae because he threw Kogashi to the ground, who growled at him and rubbed his sore throat. Jatar turned and began to walk away from the group.
"Where are you going?" Jatar didn't answer and kept on walking. "Jat-kun?" Tayllin begins to follow after him, until he cloaked himself and vanished out of sight. She stopped in her tracks.
"Please come back!" she yelled out into the forest, but still she received no answer. Tears began to stream down her eyes. "Jat-kun...please don't be upset. You didn't know. No one is to blame. Please...come back..." She whispers to herself.
"Why does this happen to me..." Jatar said while walking through the dark forest. He uncloaked himself and sat on a tree trunk.
"He didn't deserve that!" Taylin dropped to her knees and began to sob into her hands. Yosha sat near the fire in silence, while Kogashi had his back turned towards the group while sitting on the forest floor.
"Oh no..." Jatar felt a powerful enemy approach and transformed.
"He's been so nice, and caring..." Taylin sobbed.
An agonizing roar was heard in the forest.
"And he didn't even have to be..." Yosha and Kogashi listened to her, feeling partly responsible for what occured moments ago.
"What the hell! Even with a...bleeder spear...it won't......die" Jatar looks down at his heavily bleeding chest.
"Did you hear that?" Yosha stated. Taylin lifted her head slowly, then felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.
"Someone is dying." Kogashi whipped his head around and looked at Taylin fearfully.
Jatar chuckled lightly as he collapsed to his knees. "Ironic that...I'm taken down while camping..."
"Oh no..." Taylin rose to her feet and immediately transformed and headed out into the dark forest. "I'M COMING JAT-KUN!" Yosha and Kogashi followed close behind.
Jatar opened his mini computer attached to his arm and pressed a sequence of buttons that made small noises.
"There's only one way out..."
Taylin flew through the forest. She saw blood trail and followed it.
"JAT-KUN?!" She called out into the forest.
Jatar laughed at the monster. 'If I go down, I'm taking you with me!' He said to himself.
Taylin spotted the monster and saw a form laying on the ground.
"JAT-KUN! GET UP!" Jatar turned towards the voice.
"HUH?!" Taylin flew towards him.
"10..." the computerized voice stated.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU YOU DOING HERE?! RUN!"
"9..."
'Almost there...' she thought to herself.
"RUN!" Jatar managed to get back onto his knees, with much difficulty.
"The monster!" Taylin shouted.
"8..."
"WHO CARES! JUST RUN!" The monster gets closer to Jatar.
"NO!" Taylin stood in front of him, shielding him from the monster.
"7..."
"Please...run..." Jatar said weakly. He coughed up blood in the process.
"6..."
Taylin raised her scythe, but the monster knocked it away. She gasped.
"5..."
Taylin helped him stand up in an effort to get away from the monster.
"Come on!"
"Tay...you have to leave...or I'll take you too..." Jatar said weakly. Taylin looked at his battered form. Her eyes widened in realization when she heard the next number.
"4..."
"What the!?"
"Run, you fool..." Taylin shook her head. Yosha and Kogashi were seen in the distance.
"3..."
"It's a bomb, Tay..." She wrapped her wings around him and held him against her.
"2..."
"It was nice knowing you..."
"1..."
"I'm never leaving you..."
"Tay..."
"0."
A glowing sphere surrounded them. An explosion engulfed the glowing sphere.
"Have faith..." her voice faded out with the blast.
"NO!" Yosha yelled.
"TAY!" Kogashi was thrown back by the blast, as was Yosha.
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& nbsp; PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW!
I know I took long with these updates, but I had finals to think about, and now that I'm home, the internet is sparse...and slow (stupid dial-up). I hope this makes up for my hiatus.
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&n bsp; "Shouldn't we collect our money now?" Kogashi asked as they walked back to the village. Jatar rubbed his chin in thought. Taylin was busy munching on her beloved sweet snack. Yosha was just...being himself.
"Yeah, that's a good idea. We need to get started on where this copier demon came from." Jatar stated.
As they reached the village, the villagers were already gathered around the group. Taylin addressed the villagers first.
"Good villagers, we have slain the horrid demon for you--"
"Now pay up!" Yosha added. Kogashi growled at him.
"SHUT UP YOU MANGY MUTT!" A staring contest broke out between the two.
"HEY!" Both looked at Taylin. "Be nice." They received a glare from her in warning. They continued to growl low at each other. Taylin sighed. "I'll talk to you both later." She turned back to the villagers.
"For compensation, we require a fee for our services."
"We are mercenaries doing good deeds for payment. Think of us as hired goons, but nicer." Jatar added. "Much nicer."
"A fee of..." Taylin leaned toward Jatar and began to whisper to him. "What should we charge, Jat-kun?"
"Uh...yes....um..."
&nbs p; "Such a way with words..." Taylin gave her an exasperated look. The villagers, however, began to get restless.
"Come on, Jatar! We gotta go kill stuff! SPEED IT UP!" Yosha growled. Jatar turned towards him with a menacing look.
"SHUT UP AND HEEL!" Yosha brutally hit the ground with a loud 'thud'. Taylin turned back towards Jatar.
"Any suggestions?" she asked.
"Well, for this demon, and all the hell it put me through last night, how about one hundred srallod."
"Each. Person." Taylin added. Jatar turned towards her.
"No. In total. I'm not that greedy." All three mouths dropped to the ground.
"HUH?!" they all said.
"Jat-kun! That makes it...twenty-five srallod for each person. For all that crap?!" Taylin asked. Jatar began to think.
"You're right." Taylin breathed a sigh of relief.
&nbs p; "That's too much." Taylin's eyes went wide, along with Yosha and Kogashi. "How about twenty srallod? That's about five for each person." Jatar stated.
"WHAT?!" Kogashi stated.
"JATAR!" Taylin chided.
"What now?!"
"We went through all that hell for that...that...THING!" she pointed out.
"First you say I'm too expensive, now you say I'm too cheap! Which one?!"
"YOU'RE TOO CHEAP!" The group shouted at him. They glared at him as well.
"Fine! Five hundred srallod." He glares back at the group. "Is that good enough?"
Taylin gave him a sweet, innocent look. "Yes, that's much more adequate."
"Geez milk them for all they have." he grumbled under for his breath.
"We could..." Yosha got an evil glint in his eye. The villagers got nervous at his gesture.
"Oh so now we're pirates?!" Jatar exclaimed.
"Look, just take the payment so we can find out where that demon came from." Taylin said. Jatar took the fee and turned to see Taylin stuffing her face full of cookies.
"Here we go again..." They all headed out to the village, while Taylin was skipping behind.
"Gff mpht fftf!" Taylin's mouth was full of cookies. Jatar looked at her strangely.
"Aren't you happy." Taylin suddenly stopped and looked at something that caught her view.
"You see that?"
"Aye." Jatar answered.
"What's that?" Jatar looked at where she was pointing, while she munched on yet another cookie.
"Looks like a trail." Taylin rolled her eyes.
"I know that. I meant what kind of trail."
"Oh. Sorry."
"Can't you trace where it comes from?" Taylin asked, munching.
"Geez, stop eating those things or you'll kill yourself." Jatar chided.
"I'm sure they won't." Taylin put away her sweet snack reluctantly for safe measure.
'I hope not...' Jatar thought to himself.
Taylin began to stare out into the forest, while Yosha and Kogashi began to rough house a bit. Jatar began fiddling with his mask. As Jatar finished, he walked back over to the group. He looked out where she was staring.
"Let's see. If you're looking at the trail, then it should be heading southwest from here." Jatar explained. Taylin kept staring out into the forest, not paying attention to what he just said. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Tay-chan, are you...okay?" His voice was filled with worry for his friend.
Taylin blinked and looked up at Jatar. "Oh, I was just thinking. What did you say?"
"I said the trail points southwest from here." He repeated.
&n bsp; "Then we should get going, right?" Taylin smiled and headed in that direction. Kogashi and Yosha followed her, looking a bit scruffed up.
'Sometimes you worry me, Tay...' Jatar thought, as he too followed.
"If we're heading in the direction where that copier demon came from, shouldn't we prepare ourselves?" Everyone looks at Kogashi. "I mean, if there are more demons like the one we fought, we're in trouble."
"He has a point." Taylin stated. Jatar placed his sheathed Kitutsu blade on his shoulder.
"But the way you performed last night, we should be just fine." He said more to Taylin than anyone else. Everyone looked at her and nodded. Taylin just blinked her eyes in confusion.
"...me?"
"Yeah you. You kick the shit out of that thing!" Taylin blushed at the comment.
"Thanks, I guess. But Kogashi and Yosha put their lives on the line,too. They should get credit as well."
"It wasn't much work." Kogashi had a smug look on his face, as did Yosha.
"Oh, right. Mr. Bigshot who was the first one who got creamed." Jatar nudged Kogashi in emphasis.
"HEY! It's not like the mangy mutt did any better!"
"WHAT?! I'll make you eat your words, you little turd!"
"And I'll make you both eat you words!" Jatar added.
"And I'll make you both eat dirt if you don't shut up!" Taylin glared at the bickering canine demons. They both eeped in response.
"Way to go Tay!" Jatar boasted. Taylin smiled in response. She then turned back to Yosha and Kogashi.
"Listen you two, we have to get along somehow. We can't be at each other's throats all the time. Especially now."
"Why not?" Yosha asked.
"It's...just pointless. For my sake, please try to get along."
"Fine." Yosha asked. Kogashi was a bit confused and Yosha raised his eyebrow at him. "What's up with you?" Kogashi just blinked. Yosha rolled his eyes.
"Whatever." He continues walking with the rest of the group.
"Dumbass mutt..." Kogashi says under his breath.
"Stupid turd..." Yosha said under his breath. Taylin was busy skipping next to Jatar, who seemed uncomfortable with her being so close to him.
"Are we there yet? I'm running out of cookies."
"I think so. And stop eating them so quickly!" he smiled at her. He looked ahead as he continued to walk, but noticed that Taylin hadn't stopped her skipping.
"How come you're skipping so close, Tay?" he asked nervously. Taylin stopped her skipping, and began walking normally.
"Oh, sorry. I just don't want to get caught up in their bickering. Don't want to hurt them." Jatar laughed lightly at her response.
"That's a valid excuse." Jatar looked around. "We should be here now." The group stopped and looked around.
"It seems spooky." Jatar looked at her in disbelief.
"It's just a bunch of dead trees." he stated.
"Yeah, spooky." Yosha shook his head in amusement, as did Jatar and Kogashi.
"Okay." He began to switch through all of his vision modes. "Nothing seems to be here."
"We should set up some sorta camp to prepare ourselves. We've been walking a while now. It's almost dark." Kogashi suggested.
"Sounds good. I'll go get some firewood." Jatar raced off into the woods and began chopping down a massive tree. The others began to unpack what belongings they had. Taylin yawned. Yosha walked over to her.
"Tired?" Taylin looked up and gave Yosha a sheepish grin.
"Yeah. I need sleep."
"I think we all do." Taylin nodded in agreement with his response. They could hear a tree falling over in the distance. Taylin slipped into her sleeping bag.
"Tell Jat-kun that I'm going to get some sleep...or at least try to."
"Sure." Taylin closed her eyes and instantly fell asleep.
*******DREAM SEQUENCE********* (AN: there will be times when reality and the dream will mix together. Hopefully I won't confuse you too badly.)
"This necklace was your father's. He would have wanted you to have it. Maybe he'll even come back for it, and you, someday." Her mother smiled down at her as she placed the necklace around her daughter's neck. The little girl looked down at the necklace with the multicolored stone.
"Really? Woudl papa really come back?" The little girl looked up at her mother in horror. There was an arm protruding from her chest.
"Ma-mama?!" Ukaran's body made itself known behind her mother. Taylin began to toss around in her sleep, which didn't go unnoticed by Yosha.
"Now you're mother is free." An maniacal chuckle resonated throughout the little girl's body.
"No..." Taylin said outloud in her dream. She began to stir violently.
"MAMA!" the little girl cried out.
"Tay-chan?!" Yosha knelt over to her
*********END DREAM SEQUENCE*********
"NO!" Taylin bolts awake. Yosha grabbed her shoulders to steady her. She was heavily panting and shaking.
"Damnit all..." she said under her breath. They both hear Jatar coming back to their camp. "Yosha, don't say anything...please." He reluctantly nods.
"So what are you up to?" Jatar drops a half ton of firewood onto the ground, causing it to tremble a bit.
"Uh...j-just trying to g-get some sleep." Taylin buried herself underneath the covers and pretended to be asleep. Yosha went back to his spot.
'How come I sense something's being hidden from me?' Jatar thought to himself. He began to arrange the firewood for their campfire.
'I hate...lying to.......him...' Taylin drifted back to sleep.
After setting up the firewood, he transformed.
"Flame Shot!" A small spark of flame lit the firewood. He transformed back and smiled at his work.
*******DREAM SEQUENCE*********
"BRING ME THE LIFE ANGEL!" Ukaran clutched the mother's throat tightly. "OR ELSE SHE DIES!"
"Who are you?! What are you doing to my mother?!" the young girl asked desperately. Cold sweat began to form on Taylin's head.
Ukaran looked at the young girl. "I want to see you true potential. I have an offer for you."
"Please don't hurt my mother! She's all I have..."
"Then this should be simple for you." Ukaran replied. Taylin began to stir more in her sleep. Jatar looked over at Taylin.
"Tay..."
"Kill the village children, and I will set your mother free." Ukaran tightened his grip on the mother's throat."
"Don't...want...to..." Taylin said outloud. Jatar walked briskly to her side. He began to wipe away the sweat the covered her forehead.
"Tay-chan, what is it?!"
The young girl's eyes went wide. "You can't be serious!" She then saw the grip he had on her mother's throat.
"...mother.." Taylin takes out her sacred blade and grabs a child nearby. She looks into those innocent eyes of the young boy she held a grip on.
"I'm....sorry." The sound of children screaming and begging could be heard.
*********END DREAM SEQUENCE*********
"TAY! WAKE UP!" He began to shake her, though not violently.
"ARA NO!" Taylin bolts awake, almost knocking Jatar back. Taylin looks around her surroundings while trying to catch her breath.
"So this is what you didn't want me to know." Jatar looked at the shaking form of his close firend. She looked away and didn't respond. "Tay, look at me. What is the matter with you?"
"...nothing."
"Tas." It was clear in his voice that Jatar was becoming more agitated.
"I said I'm fine!" Yosha and Kogashi looked on. Yosha felt the most guilt at the moment.
"No you're not! If you were fine you wouldn't wake up every night screaming like a banshee!" Taylin gasped at Jatar's statement and looked down.
"I...don't know what you're talkng about." she said in a tiny voice.
"I think you do. And you're in on it too,Yosha, aren't you?" Jatar turned towards Yosha, who was clearly surprised. Jatar pointed to his ear. "I have good hearing."
"It's not his fault! I...told him not to say anything." Taylin defended. Jatar looked back at her.
"I know. But why did you keep this from me?" Jatar's eyes showed true worry for her, which Taylin saw, and made her feel even more guilty for keeping it from him.
"I...didn't want you to worry more."
"I worry more when I know something is wrong, but I don't know what it is." He wiped away a tear that ran down her face.
"I shouldn't have to make good friends worry about me..." Taylin said in a quiet voice. Kogashi stepped forward.
"What exactly is going on here?" Everyone turned toward him.
"You don't know?" Taylin asked. Kogashi shook his head. Jatar remained quiet. "Well, in short, the sword Jat-kun gave to me carried a curse. I may or may not survive it."
"What?!" Everyone saw how Kogashi's eye twitched. The anger was boiling inside of him as his right eye kept twitching with fury.
"Kogashi, please don't be angry!" Taylin pleaded. Kogashi turned his angry gaze to Jatar.
"Is this true?" Jatar kept his face rigid and didn't answer.
"He thought the curse wouldn't effect me!" Kogashi brought his gaze to Taylin.
"That still doesn't give him the right to give it to you on a guess! He might as well let you die!" Jatar's eyes went from surprise to pure anger.
"Kogashi! Don't say such a thing! He would never--" her sentence was cut off by Kogashi's lightning quick dash towards Jatar.
"SCREW THIS!" Kogashi made an effort to attack Jatar, who didn't budge from his spot.
"KOGASHI! PLEASE STOP!" Taylin pleaded. Jatar grabbed Kogashi by his throat and lifted him up at least three inches off the ground and met his gaze with unparalleled fury.
"Don't make me hurt you, Kogashi. You have one mighty fine skull, which I don't want to remove, but just keep pushing..." Jatar said through gritted teeth.
"Please stop..." Taylin whispered. Jatar must have heard her plae because he threw Kogashi to the ground, who growled at him and rubbed his sore throat. Jatar turned and began to walk away from the group.
"Where are you going?" Jatar didn't answer and kept on walking. "Jat-kun?" Tayllin begins to follow after him, until he cloaked himself and vanished out of sight. She stopped in her tracks.
"Please come back!" she yelled out into the forest, but still she received no answer. Tears began to stream down her eyes. "Jat-kun...please don't be upset. You didn't know. No one is to blame. Please...come back..." She whispers to herself.
"Why does this happen to me..." Jatar said while walking through the dark forest. He uncloaked himself and sat on a tree trunk.
"He didn't deserve that!" Taylin dropped to her knees and began to sob into her hands. Yosha sat near the fire in silence, while Kogashi had his back turned towards the group while sitting on the forest floor.
"Oh no..." Jatar felt a powerful enemy approach and transformed.
"He's been so nice, and caring..." Taylin sobbed.
An agonizing roar was heard in the forest.
"And he didn't even have to be..." Yosha and Kogashi listened to her, feeling partly responsible for what occured moments ago.
"What the hell! Even with a...bleeder spear...it won't......die" Jatar looks down at his heavily bleeding chest.
"Did you hear that?" Yosha stated. Taylin lifted her head slowly, then felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.
"Someone is dying." Kogashi whipped his head around and looked at Taylin fearfully.
Jatar chuckled lightly as he collapsed to his knees. "Ironic that...I'm taken down while camping..."
"Oh no..." Taylin rose to her feet and immediately transformed and headed out into the dark forest. "I'M COMING JAT-KUN!" Yosha and Kogashi followed close behind.
Jatar opened his mini computer attached to his arm and pressed a sequence of buttons that made small noises.
"There's only one way out..."
Taylin flew through the forest. She saw blood trail and followed it.
"JAT-KUN?!" She called out into the forest.
Jatar laughed at the monster. 'If I go down, I'm taking you with me!' He said to himself.
Taylin spotted the monster and saw a form laying on the ground.
"JAT-KUN! GET UP!" Jatar turned towards the voice.
"HUH?!" Taylin flew towards him.
"10..." the computerized voice stated.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU YOU DOING HERE?! RUN!"
"9..."
'Almost there...' she thought to herself.
"RUN!" Jatar managed to get back onto his knees, with much difficulty.
"The monster!" Taylin shouted.
"8..."
"WHO CARES! JUST RUN!" The monster gets closer to Jatar.
"NO!" Taylin stood in front of him, shielding him from the monster.
"7..."
"Please...run..." Jatar said weakly. He coughed up blood in the process.
"6..."
Taylin raised her scythe, but the monster knocked it away. She gasped.
"5..."
Taylin helped him stand up in an effort to get away from the monster.
"Come on!"
"Tay...you have to leave...or I'll take you too..." Jatar said weakly. Taylin looked at his battered form. Her eyes widened in realization when she heard the next number.
"4..."
"What the!?"
"Run, you fool..." Taylin shook her head. Yosha and Kogashi were seen in the distance.
"3..."
"It's a bomb, Tay..." She wrapped her wings around him and held him against her.
"2..."
"It was nice knowing you..."
"1..."
"I'm never leaving you..."
"Tay..."
"0."
A glowing sphere surrounded them. An explosion engulfed the glowing sphere.
"Have faith..." her voice faded out with the blast.
"NO!" Yosha yelled.
"TAY!" Kogashi was thrown back by the blast, as was Yosha.
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& nbsp; PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE REVIEW!