On the battlefield, Miku’s help has given the Foundation soldiers a much need push but the fact of the matter is, they are spread thin. There just aren’t enough of them to win the war and help the humans. That is exactly what the Sage was counting on.
The Guardians are going to lose this war; or at least we will if we don’t get Bailey to Greenland.
Marcus knows all of this but he refuses to leave a Guardian behind. I try to talk him into going but it does no good.
I can’t imagine what Jay’s death would do to the team; especially to Marcus. I can practically hear his internal dialogue. He’s blaming himself for Rio’s death. If another member of this team dies…Marcus will lose it.
Raphael had no idea how old Bailey was. Once he sees her, he is fascinated that the Lyris has chosen her. As we wait to see if the mixtures help Jay, Bailey and Raphael become fast friends. I think it has to do with the fact that Raphael lets her play video games with him. While Bailey can’t really play, she presses each and every button on the controller and gets excited when it causes something to happen on the screen.
“How do you have electricity?” I ask.
“I’m a Para, we come fully loaded,” he brags.
“How long do you think it will be before Jay wakes up?” I ask.
“He may not.”
“Raphael, please don’t say that.”
“I’m sorry, Emmy. I just want to prepare you. I think the rest of the team should go take Bailey to Greenland. Staying here is ill advised.”
“I know, but Marcus won’t leave him.”
“You only have a day or two to find the Shoma,” he reminds me.
“Maybe we’ll get lucky and all three pieces will be down the street at a Fed Ex or something.
Then all we’d have to do is show ID to get it,” I joke lamely.
He laughs. I shake my head and slump down on my chair. He studies me.
“You and the team have been through a lot. I’m sorry,” Raphael offers.
“Me too.”
I turn and see Marcus out the window, looking out into the sky. I check on Bailey, she’s as engrossed in the video game as Raphael. I head outside so I can talk to the First Guardian.
“Hey,” I say.
“I should go get Miku. It’s been a few hours,” he replies.
“We should get her when we have news about Jay,” I suggest.
“I guess.”
“Has Ameana come back?” I ask.
“No, her and Rage are still somewhere, arguing or screwing. I don’t know which.”
“Maybe both,” I joke.
“Yeah, maybe,” he says with a serious, pensive voice.
“Marcus, maybe the team should go to—”
“—I’m not leaving here without him,” he snaps.
“Okay,” I nod as I get closer to him.
We are silent for a few minutes. The sky gets darker and clouds roll in. I’m hoping he talks to me without me having to push him. It takes nearly twenty minutes but he finally says something.
“I didn’t think I’d have to worry about The Twins,” he confesses.
“Yeah, me either.”
“I thought with them being self-healing, I could relax and focus on the rest of the team. And now he’s gone and it’s my fault.”
“No, it’s not. You didn’t blast him with a power ball, Marcus.”
“I SHOULD HAVE SAVED HIM!!!” He shouts, pulling away from me.
“You had to send Miku to help on the battlefield. You did what was best for the team. You’re a good leader,” I remind him.
“No, a good leader would have been smart enough to realize the Sage was evil. A good leader wouldn’t miss something like that.”
“Baby, it doesn’t help to keep tearing yourself up like this,” I say, taking his hand in mine.
“I just want to understand how it happened…” He says lost in thought.
“How what happened?” I ask.
“How did I lose two Guardians? How did I let my friends die? Why can’t I save the people I love?”
“You save me. You always save me.”
I wrap my arms around him. He holds me tightly. I can feel the stress and tension in his body. I look into his eyes; the worry etched inside them breaks my heart.
“Everything is gonna be okay. I really believe that. We’ll get Bailey where she needs to be and we’ll save the world—again,” I promise him.
“We have less than a few hours to find the Shoma; that won’t be enough time. So in the end, we may save your world; but we won’t save mine.”
Not long after Marcus and I talk, Ameana and Rage return. They’re holding hands so I’m guess they’ve made up. Bailey greets them eagerly.
“Mimi, look!” She says pointing to the video game. Ameana pretends she has never even seen a video game. She acts surprised and delighted. Rage kisses her on her temple and whispers something in her ear that causes Ameana to smile.
“Has anyone seen Miku? It’s time she was back. She shouldn’t be out there on her own for this long,” Marcus says.
“I’m here,” She whispers from the front door.
She looks smaller somehow. It’s as if the weight of her grief has taken five pounds off her already small frame. Her eyes are worn looking and droopy. I suggest she rests, but naturally she refuses to recharge until Jay wakes up.
“Can I do it now?” Bailey asks Rage.
“Do what?” Marcus says suspiciously.
“Yeah, Mimi will help you,” Rage replies.
Bailey and Ameana disappear into the back. We all look on curiously.
A few minutes later, Ameana comes back and makes an announcement.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to the Bailey fashion show!”
“Can I come out now?” She asks from behind Ameana.
“Yup, we’re all ready.”
“Wait!” Rage says as he goes over to Raphael and tells him something.
Raphael goes over to the table with mountains of gadgets. He presses a button and music fills the room. Rage tells Bailey to start the show.
Bailey leaps out in front of Ameana and shows off her new outfit. She has on a black leather jacket with dark jeans and a pink shirt that proclaims ‘I’m as awesome as they say.’
Everyone in the room laughs at her unbridled enthusiasm. Even Miku smiles a little as Bailey works the room and throws kisses to us. When the show is over, we clap and tell her what a great job she did.
“Can I have candy now?” She asks Rage.
“No, nap time, candy later,” he says, sounding like he has had years of experience.
Bailey pouts but agrees. Raphael points to a small armchair where Ameana can lie her down.
Ameana walks her over to the chair and starts to sing Itsy Bitsy Spider.
“What happens to her, after the Lyris is used?” Rage asks, concerned.
“She’ll be a normal human,” Raphael replies.
“Where’s her family?” I ask.
“The Lyris usually chooses people without families. That way they don’t have to separate them from their loved ones.”
“So, Bailey doesn’t have anyone?” Ameana asks.
“No, but we will see to it she’s taken care of,” Raphael assures her.
“What if we take her?” Rage says.
The room goes silent. We all turn to Rage, including Ameana. Rage looks over at her to gauge her reaction. Slowly, she smiles and nods in agreement.
Marcus and I exchange looks of confusion and uncertainty. Miku is about to ask what I’m sure will be one of many questions but then we hear Jay mumble.
Miku rushes over to him. Raphael warns him not to get up because he is still too weak. Jay looks awful. His skin is ashen and his eyes are dull.
“Are you okay? How do you feel? I’m so sorry, Jay. I’m so, so sorry,” Miku says taking his hand.
He looks up at her and blacks out again. Miku begs him to wake up but Jay doesn’t. Miku’s face falls as Jay’s hand goes li
mp inside hers. Raphael tells her it’s natural for Jay to go in and out of consciousness, but it does little to cheer Miku up.
I turn to Marcus and ask him for a favor. He looks at me curiously.
“You really want me to do that?” He asks.
“Yeah, please,” I reply.
He flies me to New York City, or what’s left of it. We land on the block his favorite bar is on.
We find him sitting in an alley not far away. He has his head down and a beer in his hand. When he looks up and sees us, he’s on high alert.
“Hi, Julian,” I say, not sure what I’m expecting to happen.
“What’s wrong? What happened? Are you hurt?” He asks, looking me over.
“She’s fine,” Marcus replies.
“Yeah, no thanks to you,” Julian counters.
“Can you two please knock it off?” I bark.
They both fall silent.
The Alley, like most of New York, has been ravaged by the weather. Very little remains standing in the area.
“Can we go somewhere and talk?” I ask Julian.
“You wanna talk to me?” He asks, shocked.
“Um, yeah…kind of.”
He looks around to see what’s still standing. We head for an abandoned gas station across the street. I tell Marcus I want to talk to Julian alone.
“Are you sure about this?” He asks.
I kiss Marcus’s forehead and walk across the street with the original First Guardian.
We enter the small convenience store attached to the gas station. The wall is cracked, the windows are smashed and everything has been thrown to the floor. There’s about a foot of water under our feet and all the lights are out.
Wanting to talk to Julian was a spur of the moment thing and, now that he is right in front of me, I’m not sure what to say or even where to start.
“What is it?” He asks.
“Um…nothing. How’s the end of the world thing going for you?” WTF???
“Emmy, what’s happening?” He asks filled with worry.
I shrug my shoulders.
“I don’t know,” I reply staring at the floor.
Damn it, Emmy, why did you want to meet him if you weren’t gonna say anything?
“Tell me what happened,” Julian insists.
“Nothing, really. I mean, we found a source that could help save the world so, that’s good. She’s only like, three years old, but she can help.”
“That great, what’s the problem?”
The tears run down my eyes even before I realize they were coming.
“He’s dead,” I sob.
“Who’s dead?”
Suddenly, it all comes pouring out of me. I become a volcano of pent up emotion. I’m erupting in the form of uncontrollable sobs and shaking. In a moment of utter weakness, I bare my soul to the man I worked so hard to ignore.
“Rio’s dead. He got hit with a power ball and he died. He died with his eyes open and he was my friend and that’s not fair. It’s not fair! He never got a chance to find love and he deserved it. And Miku’s so broken…I can’t fix her. And Jay’s hurt; Redd cut him open. And I want to help Marcus but I don’t know what to say. And I know he loves me but I’m still pissed he married Bianca. And I just…I just…I miss my mom, I miss her so much…I can’t take it anymore, I can’t…”
I don’t remember if he came to me or if I came to him. All I know is that Julian is holding me as I blubber on his shoulder. I didn’t think I could break down like that, but I did. I cry into his chest and he strokes my hair and tells me things will work out.
“No, they won’t,” I sob.
“Yes, they will, Piglet.”
I pull away from him and look into his eyes.
“How do you…?”
“I used to watch you and your mom all the time. I heard her call you that. It always cheered you up,” Julian replies.
“You watched me? I mean you really came to see me?”
“There was a kindergarten play with the best queen bee in history. Then, there was the field trip to the zoo where you tried to open the gate and set the bears free.”
“They looked really sad. It was like their eyes were begging me,” I reply.
“Yeah, well, I was in the crowd and got security to intercept before you could ‘rescue’ them.”
“You did?”
“Yeah; then there was the time you were gonna run away from home, remember?”
“I was like, five. My mom wouldn’t let me stay up and watch TV.”
“You packed your Sesame Street backpack with socks, a coloring book and a box of ice cream.”
“How did you know that?”
“You snuck out of your apartment when your mom wasn’t looking. You got all the way down the block, leaking vanilla ice cream with every step.”
“I remember that! I ran into a man who asked me where I was going. I told him I was running away. He laughed and looked down at the trail of vanilla drops. He said I better eat the ice cream before it all melted. We sat down on the side walk and ‘drank’ the ice cream together. Then he said maybe I shouldn’t run away because there may not be ice cream where I’m going.”
“Then he took your sticky hands and walked you back home.”
“Julian…?”
“After you were back safe in your apartment, I stood outside that door for hours. I would have given anything to be able to walk in and tell you and your mother who I was. I wanted to be with my family, but after that day, I stopped watching over you; it hurt too much,” he says with a catch in his voice.
He’s close to crying; too close.
“I should go,” I reply, clearing my throat.
“Yeah, okay,” he says, avoiding eye contact.
“Thanks for…listening,” I say as I head out.
“Emmy, you’ve done an amazing job at keeping it together. These aren’t normal circumstances. It’s okay to lose it.”
“Yeah, I guess. Thanks, again,” I reply heading for the door.
He calls out after me in voice filled with pride.
“Femi was strong, courageous and, most of all, unbreakable. And you, Emerson Hope, you are your mother’s child.”
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX:
DARKEST OF THE DARK
When we get back to Raphael’s house, we are greeted by Miku who is beside herself with happiness.
“He woke up! He woke up!” She says sounding more like Bailey than a Guardian.
She takes my hand and drags me to Jay’s bed.
“How do you feel?” I ask.
“Like a good engine in the hands of a bad driver; I’m being tortured” Jay says obviously referencing to his care giver, Raphael.
“I’m running tests to make sure he is safe to go to Greenland with you. He’s better but he should recuperate for at least a few weeks,” Raphael replies.
“Yo, I’m good, son. I can handle mine,” Jay says confidently.
“Maybe you should stay back, Jay,” Miku says concerned.
“Yo, we only been together a minute and you already try’n to control all this right here?” He says, shaking his head.
“Are you two together?” Ameana asks.
Miku looks at Jay.
“Girl, you know you been had me. Your man just needed some time that’s all,” He replies with a half smile.
“Um…I think you mean my man was scared,” Miku corrects him.
“See, all that aint even necessary. You ’posed build your man up. Say good things bout him.”
“Oh really? Like what?” Miku asks.
“You ’pose to say ‘Jay you is fineeeeeee and the way you drive…turns me on,’ real talk.” He instructs her.
“Actually you’re ugly and your turns need work.” Miku replies.
“Oh so, it’s like that? You just gonna pick on an Angel when he’s lying here on his death bed? That’s cold, yo,” he says, shaking his head dramatically.
“Okay, okay I guess you’re kind of okay looking,” Miku s
ays as she leans in and gives him a quick kiss.
“That’s right, girl, put it on me!” He replies.
“I’m sure you two can get back to that later. Right now, we need to make sure you are good enough to battle,” Marcus insists.
“Yo, I’m good, right man?” Jay asks Raphael.
Raphael raises Jay’s shirt and reveals a gash that runs from his chest down to his lower stomach.
There’s a trail of silver stitches that run along his wound and help keep it closed.
“I did everything I could do to get the bleeding to stop. But there’s only so much a mixture can do. And there’s also the matter of your inflicting the pain on yourself.”
“I had to,” Jay replies.
“I know, but mixtures can detect self-inflicted wounds and they are less likely to heal them,” Raphael replies.
“It wasn’t his fault. I made him do it. I mean, Redd did,” Miku says bowing her head in shame.
Jay reaches out and takes her hand in his.
“So, I’m always going to have this scar?” Jay asks, serious for the first time.
“Yes.”
He looks away.
“It’s okay. I think scars are hot,” Miku says.
“Really?” Jay says, not convinced in the least.
“Yes. And when we have time, I’ll show you just how hot I think they are,” Miku promises. The smile returns to his face, but it’s short lived. He turns serious again.
“I was in and out a lot. Is Rio really gone?” He asks.
We all look at each other in great dismay.
“Yeah, he is,” Marcus replies.
“You okay?” He asks Miku.
“Don’t worry about that now. You should let Raphael finish examining you,” she lets go of his hand.
“Hey, don’t go too far. Seeing your face helps a brother get better faster.” She beams and promises not to go too far away.
In the next few hours, Jay’s strength begins to return. Miku stays by his side the whole time, as promised. Raphael suggests we start training Bailey, so she knows what to do when she gets to the top of the mountain.
“We can guide her when she gets to the top,” Rage says.
“She has to be up there by herself. She’ll be too powerful for you to be that close to her, especially given that you’re a Demon.”