Unexpected Help Brandan stirred in his bed. He opened his eyes and looked at the small alarm clock next to his bed. It read 5:00 A.M. He leaned up and stretched his arms. Brandan opened his door and looked around. Flash was all snuggly in his chair and his foot was still twitching. Brandan just rolled his eyes and walked past him. Brandan stopped when he noticed the crazy pose Ryudo was in. Ryudo head and shoulders were on the floor while his waist and legs were still on the couch. His arms were flung over his head and face, while one leg was up in the air and the other was flopped on the arm of the couch.'He must of had one crazy dream last night,' thought Brandan. Brandan noticed that is was kinda stuffy in the van, so he decided to go outside to get some fresh air. Brandan opened the door and stepped outside. Brandan saw Elena sitting on the ground in front of him in her night-gown. Brandan walked up to her. Elena was looking at the bell Elyssa had given her and remembered what Elyssa had told her. Elena heard Brandan's footsteps and quickly put the bell in a pocket in her gown."Hey, Elena. What are you doing out here," asked Brandan as he crouched down to meet her height. Elena looked at him and gave a small smile. "I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to get some air." "Me too. Did you see the crazy pose Ryudo's in? He must of had one heck of a dream," said Brandan with a grin. Elena shook her head,"I guess I forgot to look. I'll see it later." Elena then began to stare at the space in front of her."Brandan, can I ask you a question?" Brandan looked at her,"Sure. What?" "What's your family like?" Brandan was a bit taken back by the question."My family? Well....My mom lives in a town far away. She makes a living teaching singing classes and knitting. My dad doesn't live with her. He works in a part yard selling and fixing parts. He took the job for the money, we really needed it at the time. He kinda hates the fact that the family is split up, but visits are very frequent. Frankly, I wouldn't change a thing. Why do you ask?" Elena looked at her feet."I want to know what it's like to have a true family and a past. It often bothers me because I don't even remember my family. All I remember is being a Songstress Of Granas." Brandan looked at her face and saw the saddness in her eyes."You know, sometimes having a past doesn't really matter. Pasts can be painful and cause trouble for others. What really matters is that you have a future ahead of you." Elena smiled and hugged Brandan,"Thank you, Brandan. You always know how to cheer me up." "No prob. Come on, we got to leave soon." Brandan and Elena get up and walk into the van. ~*~*~*~*~*~* The van stopped at the enterance to the Skyway. Brandan looked around for some sort of loading platform."Where's the platform? Can't get on if the van ain't loaded." Brandan spotted the platform and drove the van into the cargo area of the Skyway. After everything was ready, the group headed toward their seats and got comfortable. Everyone passed the time by talking with eachother. Brandan and Ryudo played a game of cards, while Elena and Flash watch the clouds pass by. The two hours passed by quickly and everyone left the station. ~*~*~~*~*~*~ After some more driving, Brandan stopped the van as he approached an aged bridge. Brandan pulled out his map and indecated their location."Well, the only way to get to the next town is to cross the bridge. Okay, everyone head outside and cross the bridge after the van. Don't want the van to have too much weight and break the bridge." Everyone left and looked at the bridge. Jim walked onto it and looked over the side."Man! That is one rough river," said Jim as he noticed the rapids in the river. Jim jumped up and down on the bridge to see if it's sturdy. Jim gave his ok and ran off the bridge as Brandan drove across. The bridge held out and Jim ran across. Becky looked at the rapids and gave a big gulp. Becky ran across and almost passed out when she got across. Elena felt a bit nervious about crossing the bridge and Ryudo noticed."Here, Elena. Hold my hand. We'll cross together." Elena gave a small nod and took Ryudo's hand. Elena and Ryudo were about to cross, when a ball of energy hit the center of the bridge, causing it to collapse. Ryudo pulled Elena from the bridge and shielded her from the explosion. "Ryudo, Elena, you ok," Brandan yelled from across the river. Both nodded and looked to see what caused the explosion. Shadow was floating above where the bridge used to stand."It's him again. This time you won't escape," yelled Ryudo as he took out his sword. Elena took out her staff and prepared to fight. Shadow lunged at Ryudo with his claws extended. Ryudo blocked but was knocked down from the force of the attack. Shadow raised his claw when Elena smashed her staff into Shadow's skull. Her staff snapped in half. Shadow turned around slowly and glared at Elena. Elena was too scared to move. Shadow brought his hand back and struck Elena across the face with the back of his hand. Elena stummbled backwards and fell in the river. Elena grabbed onto a nearby rock to prevent the current from washing her away. Shadow opened his hand and powered up an energy ball to finish Elena off for good. Elena looked up at Shadow in fear as he prepared to fire his attack. Before Shadow could fire, Ryudo slashed Shadow, but was blocked by Shadow's tail. Suddenly, a laser hit Shadow in the face, canceling the attack. Shadow looked up as more laser beams hit him. Brandan and Jim both fired at Shadow, not allowing him to move."Ryudo, get Elena. We'll keep him busy," yelled Brandan. Ryudo quickly ran towards the edge of the river and reached out to Elena. Elena tried to grab Ryudo's hand. Elena was centimeters from his hand when the current pushed against Elena, causing her to lose her grip on the rock."AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH,RRRRRRRRYYYYYUUUU DDDDDDDDOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!" Ryudo got to his feet and ran after Elena along the side of the river. Ryudo noticed a large, flat rock hanging of the the side like a diving board. Ryudo ran across the rock and jumped off the edge. As soon as he hit the water, Ryudo was taken by the current. Ryudo tried his best to move around, but the current was too strong for him to swim in. Ryudo couldn't see Elena anywhere. A wave engulfed Ryudo, taking him underwater. When Ryudo surfaced, he saw Elena a few feet infront of him. Elena was tring her best to keep her head above water, but much difficulty. Ryudo outstreched his arm and reached for her. Ryudo was too far away, but still continued to reach her. The current became so strong that Elena could barely lift her arms out of the water to grab Ryudo's hand."ELENA! ELENA, HOLD ON! TRY TO STAY ABOVE THE WATER, I'M ALMOST THRERE," yelled Ryudo as drew closer to Elena's arm. Just as he was about to grab it, a wave engulfed Elena. Ryudo looked around nerviously for Elena to surface. Elena surface seconds later, only she was farther down."RYUDO! HELP!" Another wave engulfed Elena, preventing her from surfacing again. Ryudo saw a rock coming before him. He manuvered around it and dove under water. Ryudo kicked against the rock at full force, thrusting him towards Elena. Ryudo wrapped his arms around Elena as he brought her to the surface. He positioned Elena on his back and tried to keep her head above water. Ryudo looked for anything he could grab. Ryudo saw a large rock and grabbed it. He dug his feet into the bottom of the river as he felt the current getting stronger. Ryudo looked in back of him and saw a large water fall."RYUDO!!!!! WATCH OUT!!!!!" Ryudo looked to his front and saw a large tree trunk heading their way. The trunk slammed into Ryudo's chest, causing him to lose balance and let go of the rock. The current over- came Elena and Ryudo, drawing them closer and closer to the waterfall. Elena fell off of Ryudo's back as both plummeted over the waterfall."YYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Meanwhile.... Brandan and Jim continued to fire at Shadow. Shadow tried to block with his tail, but there were too many. After one beam, 3 more came. The attacks didn't really hurt Shadow, just prevented him from moving. Flash and Becky started throwing large stones at Shadow. Shadow looked away from his attackers and saw Ryudo and Elena struggling in the river. Shadow smirked as they approached the waterfall. Shadow looked back at Brandan, Jim, Becky, and Flash and gave a crazed look. Shadow fired a large energy blast. The attack missed them, but caused a large explosion behind them, causing them to shield their eyes. Brandan opened his eyes and saw Shadow heading towards the waterfall."Hey, everyone alright," yelled Brandan as the others opened their eyes as well."Sure, we're fine, but we have to help Elena and Ryudo before Shadow gets to them," said Jim as he motioned everyone to the van."Crap! He's smarter than I thought," yelled Brandan as he looked behind him. All the trees behind him were blocking the road."I bet Shadow used the blast to trap us here," said Becky as she put on a worried face."Come on, let's get this stuff cleared," said Brandan as he pushed against a large tree. Becky and Jim did like wise. Flash extended his blades and began to cut through the trees. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* A young man around the age of 19 or 20 wondered around the the area of the river. He had turquose hair and was wearing all black. He had a long black cape that fluttered in the wind. The man came to the river and looked around causiously. He then noticed something in the river. He walked to the edge of the river and looked out. He saw Elena clinging to the trunk that she had gone over with. Elena was unconcious and looked in pain. The man looked around and proceeded over to her slowly."Who is she? What is she doing out here all alone," the man said to himself. He stepped into the river and drew closer to Elena. He looked at her closely and moved her wet bangs away from her eyes."She reminds me of...but it can't be. She fell off the cliff. She couldn't have survived....could she?" Elena began to slip off the trunk. She fell into the water, but the man quickly picked her up. He held her gently and looked around. The young man saw a clearing and a path on the other side of the river."If anyone should pass by, they'll find her there. I take her with me, but I might put her in even more danger." The young man looked around. He then made his way across the river which was up to his chest. When he reached the other side, he gently placed Elena down near the water so it would look like she washed up there. He lifted her head and moved it up more so her face wouldn't fall in the water. Before he left, Elena opened her eye a tiny bit, just to see the man for a second. Elena closed her eye and fell unconcious again. The young man looked around and left in a flash. He ran up the path and away from the river."I really hate just leaving her like that, but she'll be much safe there than with me." He looked back one last time and continued to run. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Ryudo slowly opened his eyes to see that he was on land. He looked behind him and saw the waterfall. Ryudo leaned up and rubbed his head."My head hurts. What happened? I remember something about being in the river and going over the waterfall..." Ryudo got up quickly and looked around frantically."Whe...where is she? ELENA! ELENA! She has to be here. She might of floated farther than me. I hope she's alright." Ryudo saw a path that led down the river so he followed it, keeping a close eye out for Elena. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Ryudo made his way down the path. He then came to a small clearing. He looked around and spotted Elena by the river. Ryudo quickly ran to her."ELENA! ELENA! WAKE UP! OPEN YOUR EYES PLEASE!" Before Ryudo could touch Elena, he heard a growling noise. Ryudo looked up to see Shadow floating over the river. Shadow smirked as he eyed Elena. He approached slowly to them. Ryudo stood up drew his sword. Ryudo jumped infront of Elena and began to swing his sword all around, warning Shadow to back away. Shadow payed little attention to Ryudo. Shadow easily pushed Ryudo aside and moved to Elena. Shadow lifted his claw into the air. Shadow always went for the weakest first. Elena was helpless in her present state. Before Shadow could strike her, an arrow came out of no where and struck Shadow's arm. Another came and pierced his robotic tail. This didn't hurt Shadow because of his armor. Finally, a third arrow came and pierced his chest. Shadow screeched in agony for he had no armor on his chest and the arrow went in deep. Shadow staggered a bit before he flew away in pain. Ryudo quickly ran to Elena to see if she was alright. Ryudo couldn't see any injuries. Ryudo held Elena's upper section up and shook her slightly."Elena! Speak to me! Say something!" Elena slowly opened her eyes and looked at Ryudo. Ryudo gave a relieved smile,"You're alright. I was getting a bit worried about you, Princess. You sure you're alright?" Elena nodded slowly. Elena tried to stand but couldn't. Her legs were numb from the cold water. Ryudo wrapped his arm around her back and placed his other arm under her legs. Elena dug her hands into Ryudo's shirt as he lifted her gently. Elena nussled against Ryudo's chest as he held her close. Ryudo began to walk up the path that would lead them back to where the bridge used to be. As Ryudo and Elena disappeared up the path, the young man jumped out of the tree he was hiding in with a bow in his hand."I wouldn't leave you unprotected, now would I. I better leave before I'm caught." The young man jumped into the trees and disappeared in their shadows.