Muri
"Ok, we need a plan." I spoke firmly, trying to take my place as leader. After all, I had the fanciest weapon.
"What the carrot! But you just said-" Hemu argued, frowning when I cut him off.
"Yes, I know I just said before to 'charge' but the situation's different now, we need a plan." I frowned back.
"No duh, smarty pants, we all need a plan! We all needed a plan even before the 'situation-was-different.'" Sari shouted back, her hand
on her hips.
"Well, you got a plan?" I yelled back, standing up.
"Here we go again..." A voice said, but I was already pushed too far over the edge to care.
"Celery yeah, I got a plan!" Sari screamed, her face reddening as she stood up. No one laughed at her joke, except for Hemu, who "ha ha'ed" a bit then quieted as soon as he realized nobody was laughing with him.
"Well, what about we hear this plan?" My voice faltered, and I narrowed my eyes, hoping it would go unheard. It didn't.
Sari sneered at my doubt, then firmly spoke her plan, "My plan," she grinned, "Is to kill the dragon, put the parents in the corner, and bag the cat."
"Cat? What cat?" Hemu said, looking around.
"Oh, and bag the parents, you know what I mean. Put them to sleep." Sari frowned, sitting down. I sat down after her.
"Okay," Ryuu spoke, looking around at all of our faces, "Good plan. Great job, Sari." He nodded, and Sari grinned. I groaned. "Let's concentrate on Step 1: Kill the dragon. Everyone will do their best to kill the dragon with the weapons they have. But as far as killing it, only people who can't join in are Hemu and I."
Sari
"Ah, Ryuu?" Ayumu whispered, flipping her hair behind her shoulder. "Wouldn't your gift let you wish for you to have the soul keys of your mom and dad if you wished it? 'Cos your gift was the one that lets you grant one wish."
"No. I couldn't do that for a couple of reasons. First, he said it will help me in a time of peril. Well, I'm not in peril right now, am I?" Ryuu grinned, raising his eyebrows.
Ayumu nodded, looking up thoughtfully. "A time of peril..." She whispered, her eyes turned purple, and I came to her side, telling the others not to look. Ryuu continued his list, looking away.
It was 30 seconds before she moved again. I patted her back and spoke softly, "What did you see?"
Ayumu looked pale in the fresh moonlight. I hadn't realized it had gotten dark so quickly. Her eyes were wide, and she quickly glanced at Muri fearfully, as if she worried for him. "It's soon." Ayumu whispered, this time only to me. She glanced at Muri again before looking again into my eyes. Her light lavender pupils mirrored pain as she whispered urgently. "Muri's going to die. Remember the vision? He's gonna die in this battle, I can feel it."
My face switched to a face filled with pain. I stared at Muri, my eyes felt hot and itchy, but I held back the tears. I looked back to Ayumu, who had silent tears dripping down her face. "Should we tell him?" I whispered, glancing at the others. We were the only ones talking, as the others listened intently.
"Yes..." Ayumu murmured, wiping her tears, "They'll blame us if we don't tell them. And if there's a possibility that my vision might be wrong, then to grasp that possibility, we have to tell them."
I nodded. "Okay." I turned around to face the others, Ayumu still sniffling quietly into my shoulder.
"So, guys, what's the big secret? Why's Ayumu crying?" Hemu said, smiling a little.
"I'm not (hic) c-cry-(hic) ing! I just (hic) I (hic) WAHHHHH!!!!!"Ayumu burst into another round of fierce tears, soaking my shoulder.
I sighed. Great. Now I was sad and wet. "First, I'm sure all of you know, that when Ayumu's eyes turn purple, she is seeing the future." I struggled to keep my voice low. It was so close to cracking up.
Everyone gasped. Obviously they didn't know that.
"So that's what she was doing when her eyes turned purple and she turned solid. Ayumu was seeing the future?" Ryuu speculated.
I nodded. I was so close to tears. Words couldn't be trusted. The backs of my eyes welled up with tears and I swallowed. I would not cry...yet. Not here, not now.
"And one particular vision has been showing up to Ayumu for I while now." I paused. Holding in my own flow of tears in as Ayumu burst into yet another wail. "The one particular vision... where... Muri..." I gulped, and a single tear ran down my cheek. "Died." I finished, a silent flow of tears dripping down my chin. "I'm sorry," I whispered, sniffling. "Ayumu and I thought it would be the right thing to tell you. She thinks it's going to be in this battle." I looked up to gauge their expressions.
Ryuu looked miserable. He was biting his lip as tears silently dripped down his cheeks. He shook he head as if telling himself it wouldn't happen would make this all a dream. Hemu looked stunned. He was hugging his brother tightly, hiccuping and sobbing into Muri's shoulder, just like Ayumu was doing to me; except a little quieter. Muri was broken down. No longer like his proud and brave old self. His eyes bore into mine, then he looked down to his brother, and cried softly.
I stared up at the night sky, and slowly, quietly, I cried myself to sleep.
~|*_*|~
Ryuu
I woke up. It was early morning and the others lay on the ground, still sleeping. Muri was gonna die. The thought echoed painfully in my head. And it's all because I want to save my
parents... No! I shook my head. It isn't true! Don't listen! We will all try our best to keep Muri safe. I nodded.
Picking up a stick, I drew a battle force in the mud. A huge circle for the dragon, a star for Sari, a triangle for Ayumu, a square for Muri, a small circle for Hemu, and two X's for my parents. Oh, and a pound sign for me (*).
I thought hard. And this is what I wrote so far in the mud:
The others awoke slowly as I carefully thought out my plan. 15 minutes later it was done. Also, 15 minutes later, everyone was awake and staring at my plan.
"Everyone can tell who's who, right?" I said. Everyone shook their heads. I sighed. "Well, Sari=(star), Ayumu=(triangle), Hemu=(small circle), Muri=(square), Ryuu=*, dragon=big circle, and parents= x x. Got it?" Evenyone nodded. "Okay, here's the plan:" I explained, how Sari would be attacking from afar, Muri would be close combat, and Ayumu would be our all-around medic and attacker. Me and Hemu would climb to the top of the dragon during this and put the parents to sleep. I would then carry them down.
It was a full proof plan. And the very next morning, we put it into action.
~|*_*|~
Ayumu
I jumped nimbly from tree to tree, getting down softly to pour drops around the sleeping dragon. The parents were nowhere in sight, so we continued with step 1: kill the dragon. Leaping back into the trees, I whispered the trigger: "Explode." A huge blast shook the ground around the dragon,
creating a ring of dust around the awakening beast. I leaped back through then trees to the camp.
"Mission accomplished. I have awakened the dragon." Ryuu nodded, then nodded to the trees,
where Sari and Muri lay in wait. Ryuu had taught us tree leaping yesterday, and now all of us
could leap through trees with ease. I jumped back into the trees and leaped into the battle field. It was already turning gruesome. Charismi was flying around, blowing fire into the large dragon's eyes. It swatted around, and I noticed Ryuu's parents on his back. How they did get there, I don't know.
Sari was not a bad shot. Her marks hit below and above the eye, causing the dragon to below in pain. Muri was slashing at the dragon's feet, quickly stepping aside to avoid getting squashed. The dragon howled in fury and pain. He kicked around on all for feet and blew fire in all directions. The trees were on fire. My tree even smelled of smoke. I jumped to the nearest tree that wasn't on fire and observed the battle field. It was my job to help whoever got hurt.
Sari
I drew back the string and let another arrow fly. That was the last one. I watched as it took its place in the dragon's eye. "BULLSEYE!" I shouted, smiling. "Yumiko, can I please have more arrows?" I asked into the air. I waited a second, and turned around to check my quiver of arrows.
It was full. I started to pull one out to hear Ayumu scream: "Sari! WATCH OUT!" I turned forward to see red, orange and yellow rushing at me. Fire. My feet moved of their own accord, scrambling to get out of the way. Time slowed and I tripped. The fire was coming closer. I scrambled forward on my hands and knees when it happened.
My leg burst into flames, and I screamed. I turned to watch my leg, and I shook it around, rolling in dirt. The fire wouldn't die down. I screamed again, calling for the only person who could help me now. "AYUMU! AYUMU! AYUMU!!!"
She was running towards me, and I saw her hands shake as she knelt beside me, reaching into her pocket to pull out the phial. She ripped the stopped out and shoved it in her pocket. Quickly dropping a drop into the flames, she whispered "Extinguish!" and the fire went away.
I still moaned in agony.The pain was still there. I looked at my leg to see black, burnt, charred, skin. Ayumu poured one more drop and whispered: "Heal." And the pain was gone.
I stood shakily, and thanked Ayumu, who sighed with relief. Ayumu put her hand on my shoulder and looked into my eyes for a second before flying back into the trees.
Ryuu
I gritted my teeth and kept climbing. This had to work. The rope held up to now as I dug my
feet into the shaking dragon's scales. Hemu struggled behind me.
"Ryuu!" Hemu called out, gripping the rope tightly as the dragon shook violently. "Are you sure
this rope is stable?"
"Eh. Yeah." I said, continuing to climb. "I threw it over the dragon's horn. It'll hold."
Hemu nodded and kept climbing. We braced ourselves as the dragon roared and kept shaking.
But we held on. Kind of. Hemu yelped as his left hand came free of the rope. I looked to see him
dangling from one hand as the dragon shook. He held on for dear life, his eyes full of fear. "Ryuu!"
he screamed, panicking. "Help me!"
I reached down, holding the rope steady for him. "Grab the rope with your other hand!" I
yelled. Hemu reached up and grabbed the rope. I sighed. "You foolish child!" I shouted. "Hold on!"
I smiled.
Hemu looked up. "I'm sorry. Thank you."
I nodded. "Let's go." We climbed and climbed, when finally, we reached the top.
There were my parents. Their eyes were a dull gold, a faded yellow. "Mom? Dad?" I whispered. There was no response. Their eyes showed no recognition. Tears came to my eyes and I wiped them away. "Do it." I whispered to Hemu, turning my back and wiping my tears. I knew what was happening. Soon, my parents would be lost. The words echoed in my head. I didn't dare tell the others. They would give up on me. If the subjects are brainwashed for long enough, soon their brains will rot and reason will be no more. They will die without feeling. I sniffed. "No." I whispered. "No."
Hemu
I dipped two fingers into the solution and pulled them out. My fingers were cover in a thick orange goo. I grimaced. Was this really sleeping potion? I sighed and rubbed it onto the mom's forehead. The goo disappeared, and the woman's eyelids closed. "Woah..."I whispered. The goo got absorbed into the forehead. "Weird..." I murmured, dipping my fingers again into the goo. I rubbed it onto the dad's forehead. His eyelids closed as he became limp. "Ryuu. It's done." I said.
He took his dad and mom and put them on his shoulders. He balanced them carefully and began climbing down. I put the stopper on the phial and slipped inside my pocket, following after Ryuu.
~|*_*|~
Ryuu
I slipped my parents off my shoulders and dropped them back at camp. They lay slumped against a tree and I sighed. Soon. I thought. "Soon."
Muri
I slashed and dodged, the monster now had several cuts on his feet. I grinned. This was easy. I slashed again as the dragon roared. I was so lost in my own thoughts when the unthinkable happened.
I heard someone scream and looked around to see the dragon glaring down at me. "Tch!" I clenched my teeth, running into the trees. But before I could make it, the dragon stooped down and threw me with his horns and his giant head. I felt like a cowboy on a bull rider show. A lifeless doll as the bull tossed me back and forth. But, unlike a bull riding area, there was nobody to save me here. I felt my body being tossed through the air and for a second I remembered last night. I remembered Sari's crying face as she said the words that now came true. 'Muri's...going to....die...'
I closed my eyes as I heard 4 different screams of agony along with a yelp of pain. I shut my eyes and whispered "Good-bye. I'm sorry." As my existence became no more.
Ayumu
"Muri! MURI! MURI!" I screamed, watching as his body was tossed into the air. I jumped from tree to tree, trying to find him. "Muri..." I sobbed. Tears streamed down my face when a hand gripped my arm. It was Sari.
She gripped Yumiko tightly in her other arm as she spoke softly: "Now is not the time. We will look for Muri once that dragon is dead."
"But he could still be alive! I can help him!" I cried, trying to pull my arm from Sari's grasp. "Let go!" I screamed, bursting into tears.
"I will not let go." Sari whispered, tightening her grip. "We have to destroy that thing, you understand? Do you want more people to die? Do you want to die? Do you understand? We have to kill that thing so nothing more happens to Hemu and Ryuu and us. We have to kill it before it kills us. If Muri were alive, do you think he would want us to kill ourselves over him?"
"No..." I whispered and she let go. I looked into her eyes and jumped back through the trees into the bloody battlefield.
Sari
I jumped from tree to tree, tears blurring my sight. As I jumped to the next tree, my aim went off and my foot slipped and I fell. As I lay on the ground, I tried to pull my self up. But my left hand wouldn't move. I carefully pushed myself up with my other hand and screamed. My left arm was broken. Moving it was impossible. Ayumu had already gone ahead too. "Yumiko..." I whispered, and my bow and arrow disappeared. I sat up, wincing. My arm lay limp at my side.
I jumped into the nearest tree and yelped. Every time I landed, the impact sent a painful vibration through my arm. This wasn't going to work. But I had to do it. I gritted my teeth and jumped from tree to tree, wincing and yelping. I went faster and faster, trying to ignore the pain, when I came to camp. I dropped from the tree, landing on my feet.
"Sari...? What? What's with your arm?" Hemu said, rushing over to me.
I wobbled, and he caught me. "My arm..." I whispered, "It's broken..."
"It's okay, you won't feel it anymore." Hemu said, dipping two fingers into an orange goo. He lifted his fingers to my forehead and rubbed the thick ointment onto my head.
"Hemu...? Wha-?" I whispered. But my eyes closed and I fell into a deep sleep.
Ayumu
I screamed. The dragon loomed over me. Its big fat belly just a few meters ahead. I yelped and panicked. Then, without hesitation, I did the first thing that came to my mind. I took my phial and splashed its contents onto the dragon's belly, yelling "Explode!" I ran from the dragon as it fell to the ground, blood sputtering from its chest. My face and arms were sore, and I knew that I had suffered some of the impact as well.
The pool of blood spread beneath my feet and I stopped. My legs swayed, and my head felt light. I stared lazily at the blood pool as my legs gave out. I lay in the red liquid face up, and let the darkness consume me.
Sari
My eyes opened to a familiar face. It was Hemu. I sat up and yelped. My arm was still broken, but Hemu and Ryuu had put some kind of make-shift cast around it. I leaned against a tree, panting.
"Are you alright?" Hemu asked, "You shouldn't put pressure on it. Ayumu hasn't returned yet, so we haven't been able to fix it. She should be here by now. The dragon's dead."
"Dead...?" I whispered, dazed. I shook my head. "Something must have happened to her. She wouldn't take this long. Look for her please." I gave Hemu my most pleading look, and he sighed.
"Okay. I will. But before that- you look terrible. Sleep." he whispered, rubbing the same orange goo onto my forehead. My eyes closed.
Hemu
I jumped though the trees to the battle field. I saw the dragon, dead; a pool of blood blanketing the grass. I also saw Ayumu laying not far away her eyes looking up into the sky, but seeing nothing.
"Ayumu!" I yelled, jumping down from my tree. Sari was right. Something was wrong. "Ayumu?" I shouted, splashing through the blood to where she lay. Her eyes were glazed, and her skin was blistered and red. She lay limp at my feet. "Ayumu..." I whispered. There was no response. Ayumu was dead.
I dropped down on my knees and stared down at her. This wasn't happening. Ayumu's light lavender eyes were now a dull purple. They stared ahead as if seeing something that I could not see. I shook my head. No. These were dead eyes. Eyes that stared at nothing. Her mouth was slightly open, as if she was going to say something. "Why?" I whispered. "Why?" With those parted lips, I figured she was going to say something. I waited. I waited and waited. I waited for her to say "Let's go!" like she used to. I waited for her to sit up and say: "Oh, I hit my head pretty hard there!" But nothing happened.
And with a groan, Muri sat up. Hemu hugged him tightly, throwing the empty phial into the woods to grasp his brother. Tears streamed down his face as a stunned Muri slowly wrapped his arms around a sobbing Hemu.
The sun had already gone down when I finally accepted what happened. I cried out, reaching two fingers to close her eyes. I sobbed when I slipped my arms under her lifeless body and lifted her into the trees, carrying her corpse back to camp.
Sari
"Oi, Sari, here!" Hemu threw a small familiar phial at my face. I caught it in my right hand, and looked at it. It was Ayumu's phial. There was only a little liquid left so I took off my cast and poured a single drop onto my broken joint. "Fix." I whispered, and the pain left my arm. I moved it again, smiling. Putting the stopper back on the phial I turned to Hemu. "How's Ayumu?"
Hemu walked over to me and took the phial from my hands. He turned it over and over, then shoved it in his pocket. He then knelt beside me. "Sari..." he whispered, looking away.
"How's Ayumu?" I repeated.
"She's... dead." Hemu whispered.
The warmth drained from my face. "Dead...?" I repeated. "Dead?" Hemu nodded. "Let me see her." I said, pushing past Hemu to where Ayumu lay.
Hemu was right. My sister lay there her face was covered in blisters and blood. Her long brown hair now was painted red. Her face was a scary pale in the moonlight.
I sighed. Now everyone was dying. I turned to Ryuu, who was holding two glowing keys in his hands. One was a bright yellow, and the other a neon green.
"Are those-?" I asked, sitting down next to him.
"Yes." He answered, stroking them gently, "They are. The yellow is my mum's and the green one is my dad's."
"Aren't you going to put them in?" I asked gently.
Ryuu nodded. He carefully lifted the yellow key and inserted it into the mom's head. The key went into her forehead. There was a loud click! as Ryuu turned it to the left. Then the soul key disappeared in a shower of yellow sparks.
My eyes widened as Ryuu's mom opened her eyes. She shook her head and looked up.
"Ryuu...?" she asked warily.
I watched the exchange, the knowing, that went between them as Ryuu nodded and said, "Yes, mum, it's me; you're safe." They hugged for the longest time, tears flowing down both their faces until Ryuu pulled away and said, "Now for dad."
He took the green key and repeated the same process. A click! as Ryuu turned the key to the left, and a shower of green sparks as the key disappeared.
Ryuu's dad opened his eyes and tears immediately flowed from his eyes. "Edith? Ryuu? Is it really you?"
Ryuu's mom, Edith and Ryuu nodded. "Yes John, it's us. Ryuu too. He saved both of us."
Ryuu hugged with his dad then looked at both of them. "It wasn't just me; mom, dad; it was everyone here. My friends." He said, gesturing to Hemu and me.
I smiled sweetly, and held out my hand. Edith and John both shook it. Hemu stepped closer, giving Edith and John a thumbs up and a smile. "Oh, dearies; you shouldn't have," Edith said, smiling.
"Yes, we shouldn't have," Hemu said, grinning, "But we did!"
"Oh and who's that sleeping over there?" Edith asked, gesturing to Ayumu.
"Uh, mum." Ryuu said, getting uncomfortable. "That's Ayumu, Sari's little sister. And, she's not sleeping, she's dead."
The happy atmosphere was drained and replaced by a gloomy one. I grimaced and turned away. "Please excuse me." I whispered in a strained voice, leaping into the trees. I jumped from tree to tree, pondering a many great things.
Hemu
I stared after Sari, then followed her. I needed time to get over Muri's death too. Even though Ayumu told us, and we all saw it happening, there was nothing we could do to prevent it.
Ryuu
I grimaced and stared after the spot where Sari and Hemu left.
"What's up with them? Did we do something wrong?" John asked concerned.
"No, no." I assured them. "You did nothing wrong. It's just that-" I paused
"That-?" Edith encouraged.
"Well, Sari lost her sister, and Hemu lost his twin brother." I finished, letting it all out in on big breath.
"Oh." Edith said, looking down. "You guys did all that to save us. Thank you."
I nodded. "You guys stay here. I'm gonna go after them."
"Ok sweetie, be careful." Edith said, kissing me on the cheek.
"Mum, I will." I whispered. "Both of you, get some rest."
"We will, son." John whispered, hugging Edith close.
With one final nod, I flew to the trees.
Sari
Hemu shook his head and turned away from Muri, who was slumped against a tree, his eyes closed. I stared at him and crept closer. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw his fingers twitch.
I scuttled back as fast as I could, gasping for breath. "He-he-he-" I wheezed, my heart pounded. This couldn't be true! I saw him thrown sky high! But, somehow, he broke his fall? Impossible!
"He what?" Hemu yelled, startling me.
"He huh?" I whispered, coming out of a daze. "Oh, yeah, right now, I swear I just saw his finger move."
"He's still alive? Quick, Sari, hand me the phial!"
"The what? Oh! The phial! Here!" I fumbled with Ayumu's phial and finally managed to toss it to him. But it wasn't the perfect toss. I stared in horror as the phial with the last of the accium lorenby hurtled towards the ground. Hemu dived for it and caught it just as it was going to smash into a million pieces.
I grimaced, but Hemu wasn't looking. I watched silently as Hemu poured the last of the accium lorenby on Muri and whispered, "Heal!"
They pulled away and Hemu punched Muri on the shoulder, shouting "You reckless fool! You could have died! Did you think I wouldn't mind? Eh?"
Muri just laughed, patting his brother on the head and rubbing his shoulder. I smiled. I was happy for them. I turned to see Ryuu smiling in the tree, and I jumped up next to him, grinning. Thank Wadsworth for these great gifts... gifts... gifts!
"Gifts!" I shouted to Ryuu. "Ryuu, your gift!"
"Yes, what about it?" Ryuu said, covering his ears and leaning away.
"Use your gift on Ayumu! Wish her back!" I pulled him through the trees, rushing back to camp with high spirits.
~|*_*|~
I jumped with excitement as Hemu and Muri entered camp. Ryuu took out his spray bottle and looked at it.
"Ewwww! Ryuu, are you sure that's wish spray? It looks like urine!" Hemu stuck out his tongue, grinning. Ryuu's parents snored peacefully in the corner.
Ryuu glared at him and turned to face Ayumu. He sprayed the liquid all over until the bottle was empty. He then threw the bottle into the trees and put his hands together, squeezing his eyes shut. All was silent until Ryuu's voice boomed across the clearing.
"I wish Ayumu would come back to life!" He shouted and opened his eyes.
Nothing happened. I was just about to burst into tears when a voice drifted across the clearing.
"Oh, I hit my head pretty hard there!"
I gasped as Ayumu sat up and smiled at us, holding her head. We all gathered in for a group hug, the happiest moment of my life.
The End
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