Inside Durahan’s iron bird, General Durahan strolled down the corridor with Lilim wrapped snugly around his neck.

“It’s time to revive another batch of frozen warriors, isn’t it?” Lilim purred.

Durahan laughed smugly to himself, “Indeed. We’ll kill the rebels this time, my sweet.”

*****

“Daddy! Daddy!” laughed a young Holly as she ran through a field of wild daises towards her father, back turned on her.

Suddenly, he walked forward, and no matter how hard she pumped her small legs, she went nowhere. She called out to him again, but he kept walking, his large back still facing her. Suddenly, a hand snatched her wrist gently and Holly turned to a ghostly image of her mother. Slowly, her young eyes turned small in fear and shock.

“Kitaku suru,” her mother cooed.

~~~~~

Holly bolted up from another nightmare, panting and holding her heart. She looked around at the others who slept happily around her. Holly sighed as fresh tears welled in her eyes. Why did she have to go through all of this pain all of a sudden when she finally thought she was happy? But she wasn’t, she was miserable. She had to give her friends fake smiles all the time suddenly when they asked her if she was okay. Sighing again, the teenager stood up and looked in to the relatively dark sky, a hint of the sun peeking over the horizon. It was early morning, Holly concluded to herself, so she decided to start to make breakfast. They were settled down under a large oak tree, looking across a river way below a large cliff only a foot away where Holly sat. A breeze brushed her hair back and Holly sadly used a hand to keep it back over her ears, but the wind won, as usual.

After an hour of patiently cooking and waiting for her friends to get up, Tiger stirred and awoke with his usual, loud yawn. The others slowly woke up and sniffed the air.

“Good morning,” Holly greeted them quietly, pouring some stew into the bowls.

Genki frowned, “Hey, what’s wrong, Holly?”

Holly shook her head, “I_it’s nothing, really. Let’s eat.”

She started to eat as the others watched her in deep concern and confusion. Finally, they decided to settle down and eat too, everyone very quiet. After awhile, Tiger suddenly looked up from lapping up his stew and sniffed the air. He let out a low and menacing growl.

“Tiger?” asked Genki.

Tiger roared, “BADIES!”

“What?!” the others exclaimed just as a group of Black Dinos tore out of the brush, teeth bared hideously.

Golem took his position of protecting Holly, but soon had to leave his spot when the Black Dinos started to win the desperate and sudden battle. Holly, as usual, felt completely helpless, and hated herself for it.

“Holly! RUN!” Genki screamed in pain as a Black Dino stomped his foot down on his back.

Holly took a timid step back, eyes small in fear and confusion. Tiger roared at her to run and Holly flung around to start to run, but instead, she found herself facing three rows of teeth with a fireball in the middle of them. The Captain released the fireball from his mouth before Holly could take in a breath. The fireball exploded on to her face and the young girl screamed in pain, holding her eyes with both hands.

“HOLLY!” Suezo and Golem screamed at the same time.

Holly tried to force her stinging and painful eyes open, but it seemed they were burnt out of her sockets. She held her face and stumbled backwards towards the edge of the cliff, letting another scream in pain release from her lips. The Captain laughed at her pain and then whipped around in a full u-turn, his tail snapping against her stomach. A large and sharp ‘crack’ filled the air as Holly tumbled off the cliff.

“HOLLY!” Genki screamed.

Holly felt the wind rush against her back as she fell. She didn’t scream or cry, instead, she hoped, if she was destined to die, there would be no pain.

Her wish wasn’t granted. She felt the enormous pain and shock as she was flung into the current of the river. Her mouth opened to whisper at least one last word, even if she was underwater, but nothing came out. But soon, water rushed into her lungs and she felt nothing else.

Above, Genki scrambled to the edge, looking over, hoping, praying, he would see her hands clinging to something. He felt his eyes well with tears, as he saw nothing. Suddenly, he shivered frantically, listening to the battle resume, his friends screaming out Holly’s name. Genki allowed his tears to flow down his face. His body glowed a purple color, and soon, the monsters did too. The last thing Genki remembered was him screaming Holly’s name until his throat hurt followed by a burst of energy, and death screams.

*****

A teenage boy walked along the coast of the river the following morning. His short, spiky black hair brushed back in the breeze, hands in his baggy, blue pants. The teenager’s icy blue eyes looked down past his white tank top and to his brown shoes. Suddenly, he heard a sharp cry in pain ahead. He gasped and ran over to see a Velvet Tiger dragging in a body from the water by his teeth.

“Shadow?!” the boy gasped. “Shadow! Who is that?!”

The Velvet looked up at the teenage while placing down the girl gently, “I was swimming when I found her. I don’t think she’s breathing, Yuko.”

Yuko instantly squatted down the mess of a teenage girl and turned her around. Her eyes were tightly closed, the whole area around them a deep black from being burnt, dried blood outlining the roasted skin. He ignored that fact for the moment and checked her pulse from her pale, limp hand. A faint flutter of a pulse relaxed his heart and he quickly did mouth to mouth on her. She sputtered painfully, water and blood shooting out of her mouth. The girl tried to take in a decent breath, but failed.

“Shadow!” ordered Yuko frantically. “Go get mother, grandfather and father! Tell them to bring a blanket or something we can lay her in---hurry!”

Shadow nodded and ran away at full speed into the forest. Yuko sighed and turned back to the suffering girl and noticed how some of her ribs seemed caved in along with her stomach. He checked the burnt skin around her eyes and took a large gulp as he slowly placed a finger on her eyelid. She flinched painfully, her head trying to loll away from his touch, but he opened her eyelid anyway. Her eye was red and still, wavering slightly in deep pain.

“Are you awake?” he whispered.

The girl wheezed and coughed out more water and blood. He stroked her messy, wet brown hair and felt her burning forehead.

“Don’t worry, we’ll help,” he whispered.

He wished he could do more, but he knew, at this moment, he could do nothing more but whisper reassuring words to her weak body.

*****

The first thing she was aware of was the torturous pain. She moved her head slightly, feeling it resting on a soft pillow. Someone’s gentle hand brushed away her wet bangs back and then allowed her to take it all in. She tried opening her eyes, but something cold and wet covered both of them. Giving up, she decided to concentrate on the voices.

“Is she OK, mother?” asked a boy’s voice.

“She hasn’t moved for two days,” a soft woman’s voice replied.

Holly wheezed in pain and moved her hand slightly to tell them she was awake. Instantly, a pair of strong hands took her hand and rubbed it.

“Don’t try to open your eyes. They’ll be better soon,” the boy’s voice whispered. “Don’t be scared…”

Holly didn’t feel really scared, just painful. Her lungs felt like they had a huge hole in them and her ribs were digging into her with each breath. Finally, she decided to sleep. Yes, sleep would take away all the pain…

*****

Yuko watched her body go limp with a long breath. He refused to let go of her pale hand as his mother walked over and slowly pulled off the large wet cloth over her eyes. She flinched as some burnt skin stuck to the cloth and finally took a bottle of medicine. She placed the medicine on the cloth and rubbed it all over. Gently, she put the cloth back over Holly’s eyes and walked out. Yuko just stared at her in concern, his hands still around hers.

*****

Far across the valley, Genki lied in his sleeping bag, looking up into the dimming sky. Everyone was around Golem as he threw Suezo in to the air.

“I DON’T SEE ANY SIGN OF HER!!” Suezo exclaimed. He blinked as his body started to drop down.

The others were looking down sadly to notice the eyeball fall towards them, eye shooting out tears. “GGGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL-EEEEEEEEEEEMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!”

*CRACK!!!!*

Genki didn’t smile or turn when the others ran to Suezo and got another one of Suezo’s bickering fits. Golem looked down with a sweat and apologized, only to get yelled at more.

[“Hey, what’s wrong, Holly?”] Genki remembered himself asking the sad girl.

[“I_it’s nothing…”] he remembered Holly’s quiet reply.

Genki blinked. [Did she somehow know that was her last day…? NO! Holly’s alive! We just have to find her!] He shot up and ran away down the path that curled down the cliff.

“GENKI, CHIII!” Mocchi called, waving after him frantically.

Tiger smirked. [Good kid.]

They ran after Genki, Suezo hopping after them madly with a large bump on his head.

*****

Early that evening, Yuko walked back to her room to see his grandfather probing her ribs gently with a large cast on them. Holly let out a loud yelp, but settled down in pants when his grandfather held her head down roughly. Yuko blinked, feeling a hate for his grandfather’s rough ways of healing people.

“Grandfather! Leave her alone!!” Yuko growled, storming into the room in rage. “We found her half dead, so be gentle with her!”

His grandfather scowled and got up, “I’m sorry.”

Yuko crossed his arms, knowing he didn’t mean it, glaring at his grandfather as he walked out. Finally, Yuko closed the door and sighed, looking at the panting Holly, mouth twisted in pain. He walked over and stroked her bangs. At his contact, Holly visibly flinched fear, but she settled down when she realized it wasn’t his grandfather.

“My name is Yuko,” he whispered. He touched her burning forehead. “This is my touch.”

Holly seemed to hear him, for her head rolled up to his direction. Her panting died down into soft breaths as her hand weakly dragged forward. He smiled and took it, watching a small smile of trust spread on her lips before she fell asleep.

*****

Genki became more frustrated by the minute as Tiger tried to sniff her scent out by the river coast. Holly was alive, he kept telling himself over and over. His memories reminded him of the Black Dino’s fireball in her face and the sharp crack, but he stubbornly shook it away. Genki sighed, but then gagged as he almost tripped over Tiger who sniffed the ground intently. Blinking in confusion, the young boy looked down to see Tiger’s sudden fill with a hint of hope. “Holly’s scent…” He turned his head toward the forest and led the air, sniffing the ground.

*****

Later that evening, Holly woke up, eyes still stinging and held down by the cold cloth. She felt Yuko’s touch on her forehead again. Holly was getting use to not using her eyes, but she still was frustrated not to see the faces of her saviors. A boy about 6 entered, his thumb in his mouth, eyes timid and curious. He had black hair like Yuko’s, but his eyes were green like his mother’s.

“Yuko?”

Yuko turned and Holly turned her head slightly to the new voice.

“Dinner’s ready,” the boy said.

Yuko smiled and turned back to Holly, turning her head back, “Can you please bring it in here for me, Ryo?”

The boy scowled, “Sure.”

He stormed out, Yuko not noticing how he reacted to the simple request. Holly licked her dry lips and tried to speak, but her voice only came out in a faint squeak of pain. Yuko instantly shushed her and stroked her face. “Go to sleep.”

Holly pretended to be asleep, which wasn’t hard considering how he couldn’t see her eyes. She thought about her dream she had last time she was with her friends. In the middle of her thoughts, she felt herself get extremely tired and weak. She sighed and let her mind drift to sleep, still hearing her mother.

[“Kitaku suru…”]

If her eyes didn’t hurt so much, Holly would’ve allowed herself to tear.