| Disclaimer: Ronin Warriors belongs to someone else, though I'm not sure who. Note: Well, if you've read this far, you must really like this! Domo arigatou! I hope you'll continue to read my fics and that you'll remember to e-mail me and tell me what you think! ^_^ _______________________________________________________ Part Six: I think I can, I think I can't by Ami-chan "So, Milo, what are we going to do now?" "'We' are going to do nothing. YOU are going to kill Crazy Old Gretchen," Milo responded with a sigh. "That sounds mean." "Okay . . .then, your going to rid the universe of a cranky, power-hungry old bitch." I smiled. "That's much better." It had been two seconds! Two seconds, and she'd forgotten everything! He was about to give up hope of her EVER remembering. How could she save him? "You must understand. You have to go it alone. My presence will only serve to feed more power to Crazy Old Gretchen. I trust you will do well." "How am I getting to this battle site?" Two seconds! Just two seconds!! "I'm transporting you." "Is that how I got to all those other places? You transported me?" I started to question the whole convenience of the teleportation device in Crazy Old Gretchen's home, and the device I'd found. Had they both been planted there for me to find? "Yes. You had to learn about Crazy Old Gretchen's evil background so I could be sure you would help me." "Oh." That sounded reasonable. Of course, that also meant the teleportation device had been and always would be utterly useless. It wouldn't have worked had I remember it, anyway. "Good luck. I'll see you when it's all over." "'Kay," I chirped, the terror of the situation totally gone. Milo believed I could do it, and he even planned to meet me afterward! I was going to win, regardless that I hadn't a clue how. I felt the first stages of teleportation kick in, and I smiled. Somewhere in the background I could've sworn I heard a faint, "We're doomed," but that's not possible. Milo was the only one there, and he believed in me! I wasn't sure what I expected, exactly, but landing two feet away from a volcano was not one of them. Two people were fighting off to one side, though I couldn't make them out very well. I saw - of this I was sure - a large white tiger observing and growling sightly. Not far from the big kitty was an annoying-looking brat and a helpless, useless-looking woman, but them I ignored. Eventually, someone won the battle and they all left, leaving me all alone. Maybe Milo had been wrong. I didn't see Crazy Old Gretchen anywhere! An evil, low chuckle made me jump and catch my breath. There she was! Hovering in mid-air in her little old rocking chair sat Crazy Old Gretchen! She looked even more hideous than I remember! Yuck! "I'll take the energy from this volcano to further my unbelievable power! Then, I will steal Talpa's armour and that of the Ronin Warriors, and then nothing can stop me!" I shivered. What a freakish old bat! "Stop right there!" Shit. What was I going to do now?! "Huh?" Her old rocking chair swiveled in the air, and she fixed her vicious eyes on me. "It's you. That brat. What are you doing here?" "I'm here to stop you! I can't let this continue!" Funny. She didn't sound afraid. Maybe she just didn't quite realize why I was here, yet. She howled with laughter as I stood there, slightly perplexed. Why was she laughing? "You? Stop ME?!" Crazy Old Gretchen laughed so hard she almost toppled her rocking chair over. "That's not possible, you stupid weakling! No one can stop me!" I frowned. Milo hadn't said ANYTHING about it being impossible, therefore, is wasn't true. "That's a lie! I CAN stop you!" "Your a very brainless girl, aren't you?" "Am not." I pouted. Maybe I wasn't perfect, and my brain didn't function correctly all of the time, but I was hardly brainless. Crazy Old Gretchen cackled louder. "Leave girl, before I get annoyed and destroy you. You're amusing enough, but you're starting to get on my nerves." "You can't destroy me!" "Look, I don't have time to play games! I have a multi-universe to take over!" "You can't do that!" I protested. "And why not?" "Because I'm not going to let you!" I struck a defiant pose, and glared at her. Crazy Old Gretchen laughed even harder, much to my dismay. "You're stupider than you look! You can't stop me! No one can stop me!" "I can," I whined, tapping my foot in annoyance. Just who did she think she was, telling me what I could and couldn't do! Milo the two-legged mage/dog said I would win, so it's obvious I would! "Look, I really don't have time to play this little game of yours. There's no conceivable way you could win, so let's save us both a bunch of trouble. Now, leave!" "NO! I WILL defeat you!!" Crazy Old Gretchen raised a hand, but I didn't flinch. I knew of her power and what she could do, but I was not afraid. She paused, as if realizing she couldn't hurt me. "Are you insane? Don't you know what I can do to you?" "I do! But you can't hurt me!" "What are you talking about?" She looked afraid, stunned. Finally, she was beginning to understand she couldn't win! Goodie! "I'm stronger, better, younger, and not to mention _MUCH_ prettier!" My eyes became distant for a moment. "Oh! Lookie at the pretty pink bunnies hopping around the volcano edge. But, what's that? Their holding machine guns! Awwww!" Crazy Old Gretchen started to hover away from me, fear clouding her eyes. "You're crazier than I am! Get away from me, you freak!" I looked at her, shocked. "Don't you want to be my friend?" My eyes lit demonically, and I smiled. "AHHHH!!" "What's wrong? Don't you see the bunnies? Or, how about the purple giraffes doing the conga-line around the base of the volcano? Aren't they precious?" "Get away from me!" "Oh, no! I can't do that! You're my friend!" Insane laughter escaped my throat, a king I never knew existed in me. Where was this coming from? "Help!" Crazy Old Gretchen flailed her arm wildly in panic. "What's the matter? Aren't you my friend? I wouldn't hurt you, and you can't hurt me. I like friends. They taste good with ketchup." Crazy Old Gretchen screamed frantically, trying to escape, but for some reason her rocking chair wouldn't move. "Nooo! Get away from me!!" Suddenly, her struggles became more violent, and the rocking chair tipped beneath her, sending her howling and shrieking into the depths of the volcano. "She fell down the hole," I commented blankly. The screams ended abruptly, and I winced. "I lose more friends that way." I made a "tsk"ing sound as I shook my head sadly. And, that's about when I started to disappear again. "You did well." "Milo?" I glanced around. I heard him, but where the hell was he? "Milo?" "I'm right here." Well, since it was a big room I'd ended up in, his voice bounced off the ways, so "here" was a vague area. So, I turned in a circle, and then I saw the disintegrating form of Milo the two-legged dog. "Milo! What's wrong?! I defeated her like you said! What's happening?!" I started to cry as I stepped toward the figure. Oh, Milo! "No, my dear. Not there. I'm here. That was merely the form I was trapped in. Now, I am myself again." I turned slowly, and my jaw dropped somewhere below the two hundred foot marker in the ground. Sure, Milo the two-legged dog had been cute, but Milo the mage was a knock out! "Beautiful," I whispered, helplessly caught in his spell . . .no pun intended. "I guess that means your glad I'm not a dog anymore." "Ohhhh yeah." He smiled at me, and my knees immediately went weak. He was unbelievable! There was almost an angelic appearance to him, or maybe it was just the fact that he was standing in a pool of radiant light . . .whatever. His eyes, now human eyes, were the same enticing dark mysterious brown they had been, but they just looked soo much better set in a human face. His soft, wavy, fluffy-looking hair was now a light brown, un-like his previous chocolate-Lab appearance. His lovely, perfect face had a sweet, delicate look to it, while the rest of him towered above me impressively. It looked to me that he would have an easy time snapping a three-hundred year old red wood in half, and at the same time looking too nice to want to hurt a poor, defenseless little tree. If you asked me, he was a perfect combination! "I'm glad you like me better this way." "Me too." "And here I thought I'd have a hard time peeling you from my former self." "After I saw you like this?" I asked, surprised. Who wanted a dog when they could have a guy like that? Then again, wouldn't it be better to just have both? "But now, I must return to the Mystical Realm." "Huh? Why?" "I am the Earth's Protector . . .or, I was before Crazy Old Gretchen changed me into a dog. But, now that you've revived me, I must return and bring order to the world." I whimpered, threatening to break into tears. Now that I'd found my dream hunk, he was leaving me! "Please, don't cry." I looked up at him suddenly, still whining. "Don't I even get a goodbye kiss?" He smiled, and I felt faint. "Why not? You deserve it for saving me." He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine gently, upon which I promptly flung my arms around his neck and forced him to deepen the kiss. If this was a goodbye kiss I wasn't going to settle for anything less than the best! "You like?" I chirped, stepping back. His face was a mixture of surprise and confusion. So sweet! "It's been . . .several thousand years since I've been kissed like that." "Yeah, well . . .you WERE a dog," I reminded him, and then my eyes glazed over for a moment as I simply stared at him, then I snapped back to reality. "So, will I be able to visit you in your Mystical Realm, my darling Protector of the Earth?" Little hearts formed in my eyes as I balanced on the tips of my toes. Just 'cuz I'd given him a goodbye kiss didn't mean that it had to be goodbye FOREVER! "Well . . .I'm sure it can be arranged . . ." I shrieked in delight. " . . .eventually . . ." I pouted, glaring at him hatefully. " . . .soon." "Goodie!" I bounced up and down for a few moments, before settling on simply clinging to him. My darling mage! Screw princes and knights! I wanted the mage! "I really should be getting back and straighten up all the problems that have been created in my absence." At my whimper, he added, "But I'll send a messenger to bring you to my realm soon." "Yatta!" The next thing I knew, I was once again standing in the remains of Crazy Old Gretchen's house. Had it all just been a dream? Was Crazy Old Gretchen not evil and powerful? Was she really not dead? I glanced down at my hand, and found a scrap of cloth in it. A piece of cloth from Milo's sleeve I'd been pulling on before he teleported me. It wasn't a dream! My lovely Milo existed! And now, everything would always and forever be perfect . . . Then again, I have been known to be wrong . . .from time to time . . . _______________________________________________________ Okay, so that last part was just part of my fantasies coming true. It's mine, so I'm allowed! Ah...Milo *drool*...oh, yeah...heh, heh... e-mail me at [email protected], please! ^_^ |