Chapter 16 “Ketsu Mitsukai”

Chapter 16
Ketsu Mitsukai

[Knapp Mitsukai - Midnight]
[Sybil Magnus - Timeless]
[Logy Oib - Silent]
[Clear Dawn - Nova]
[Zack Kyota - Void]
[Jade Wolf - Gravity]
[Johnny Shiba - Atom]
[Skylar Lawrence - Starry]

ONE YEAR LATER

Ever since Danielle and most of the S.W.S members became the victims of the chains, Leon has somehow disappeared from the face of Earth.

Knapp decides to spill everything to Ryu and Tezuka, who end up hiding with them. Because they were declared to be war deserters by their own country.

A few days after Danielle’s death, the Dark Team has no choice but to move on. Clear is using up all of her time searching every location of the planet. If Earth is fully locked up, Leon cannot leave the planet even though he is the Locker…

Right?

The rest of the Dark Team has been polishing up their techniques, skills, and powers just in case the Big Five has shown up again.

As for Sybil… She already has full hands with Katja who is beginning to run around. It’s getting more difficult for her everyday, especially when she is pregnant again. Yes, pregnant again.

Except her pregnancy is different this time. She has been getting less and less visions lately. When she finally gets one, it is usually blurry or vague. She wonders if the pregnancy is weakening her power but it never happened during her first one with Katja. 

Knapp asks her once when he realizes that Sybil has not told him any vision that can be at least significant. All she can say is, “Sorry, it’s really hard to explain… Lately, my visions are getting more confusing. They get redder every time as well.”

That is when Knapp brings up the upcoming destruction of Earth or worse, the entire universe… that is if they cannot find a way to destroy Leon’s chains.

Since then, Sybil has been trying so hard to put pieces of her visions together. At least trying to recognize one or two things in them.

And then, one day, she wakes up gasping for air. When she calms down and checks on Katja who is sleeping in her crib, she realizes that she recently had the clear vision for the first time.

~*~

Logy yawns sleepily and then proceeds to take a bite of an apple. He has gotten up really early, and everyone else is still sleeping. 

Or he thought so because he feels light taps on his shoulder.

He tries his hardest not to jump at the sudden and unexpected touch but he still tosses his apple in the air in fright. This is one of the times when he finds his deafness to be a disadvantage.

“Sorry, sorry!” Using sign language, Sybil cannot help but giggle at Logy’s reaction. “I can’t believe that you didn’t even scream.”

That was because I was trained not to scream for many years, Logy thinks to himself. He scratches his arm nervously while glancing anywhere but her. 

“Y-yeah.” As soon as his hazel eyes end up on Sybil’s big belly. “Are you ok? Do you need anything?”

“I’m fine.” Sybil smiles at him as she opens the refrigerator. “I’m just starving right now.”

After a minute of awkward silence, Logy says, “Uh. I guess I better get ready for training--”

“Oh no, not yet. Sit down.” Sybil places several containers on the table and then gently pushes Logy into one of the chairs. “We need to talk.”

Talk? Logy blinks in surprise. Ever since we first met, we barely held a conversation. Why now?

Sybil opens one of the food containers to find a piece of cake. She takes a bite of it. She says pleasingly, still using sign language, “Delicious!”

Logy sweatdrops but waits patiently until Sybil is finished with mumbling how tasty the cake is. Must be a pregnancy, huh?

“That was so good!” She puts down the fork. “Alright, can I look at your hand?”

“Huh, why?” Logy asks in confusion. Last time she ever touched his hand was when they were shaking their hands after Knapp introduced each other. She seemed to hate him for no reason ever since then.

“I had a vision a few nights ago. It was very clear,” Sybil says between bites of strawberries. “I haven’t told Knapp… I’m not sure if I’ll ever tell him.” She stops eating as soon as she finishes talking.

“What did your vision show you?” Logy begins to use his mind energy but stops when he notices Sybil’s sad eyes.

Is it really bad? Is it about Knapp? Earth? Or… He frowns at his own thoughts. But what does it have to do with me?

“How long does a Fantasian live?”

Logy blinks at her. He is even more confused now. “Huh…?”

“I’ve read somewhere that the citizens of Planet Fantasy live much longer than Earthlings, right?”

“Um, let’s see… I think my mother was over six hundred years old but she seemed to be in her prime before the cancer took her,” Logy taps his forefinger on his chin, trying to remember as much as he can.

“Wow, that long, huh? You even look the same as the first time we met… except some muscles you gained from the years of training. I’m so jealous!” Sybil’s eyes start to sparkle in wonder. “Here I am… already getting wrinkles and a few gray hairs.”

Logy smiles a little at her. “That is not true. You’re still beautiful. I’ve always seen the way Knapp looked at you. He truly loves you.”

Sybil does not know how to respond to his remark because she is completely surprised. Even after years of giving him a silent treatment, Logy has never said something like that. He has not even said a single bad thing about her either.

She begins to feel guilty for what she did to him. All she did was see a vision of him and Knapp laughing together, and then she happened to get jealous.

“Thank you, Logy.” Sybil smiles back as she places his hand on the table, with her palm facing up. “If you don’t want me to see another vision of yours, that’s fine. I just want to make sure that Knapp has someone who will live long enough. You know… Universe Warrior also lives pretty long as well. Before I’m gone, I need to know that he will always… have someone in his life.”

Is that what she is really worried about? It’s not like she’s dying anytime soon, right? Logy glances at Sybil’s hand briefly. “What are you hoping to see in the vision?”

“A good future one, I hope.”

Logy lets go of a long sigh. He leans forward a little bit, putting his face on his hand with both of his elbows on the table. It’s been five long years since we landed on Earth. It’s been nothing but bad things happening around us.

Without any hesitation, he takes Sybil’s hand and looks up at her face. He is debating with himself whether to read her mind or not.

Aw fuck it. He starts using his mind energy only to catch just a few final words from her head: ...Still so happy together. Thank Hikyou-sama.

He stops when he notices that tears are falling from the pregnant woman’s eyes. He quickly lets go of Sybil’s hand. “Are you ok?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine.” Sybil hurriedly wipes her face with her own hands. “Thank you for letting me see your vision. I… It hasn’t changed from your first vision that I saw when we met a long time ago.”

Logy cannot help but ask, “Is this about Knapp?”

“Talking about me, huh?” Knapp comes up behind Sybil, putting his hands on her shoulders. His cold eyes are making Logy shiver. “I see why you’re so quiet. You were using sign language, huh?”

Sybil giggles. “We didn’t want to wake anyone up.”

“What did Logy do to make you cry?” Knapp asks as he briefly glances at the deaf man.

“Nothing. I was just being hormonal,” Sybil smoothly lies as she gets up and stretches out her arms. “I’m going back to bed.”

After she leaves, Logy gets up and begins to clean the containers. Realization starts to dwell on him that Knapp is still watching him. “W-what?”

“You’re both friendly with each other,” Knapp says.

“Of course yes, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.” Logy resists the urge to roll his eyes. He puts the food containers in the sink and begins to wash them. He’s silently hoping that if his back is facing him, then Knapp will leave him alone. But he looks up as soon as Knapp taps his shoulder.

He freezes at how close their faces are from each other. T-this is getting really dangerous. He really needs to stop doing this to me.

“What were you both talking about?” Knapp asks as he pulls back away from him.

Logy sighs as he turns off the faucet. “I was going to training but she wanted to talk to me.”

“And?”

“She wanted to see my future. She even asked a strange question, like how long a Fantasian lives… That’s it. Honestly. There wasn’t really anything important.” Logy hurriedly walks past his taller friend, heading straight for the training room, but his wrist gets caught. He almost jerks it out of Knapp’s grip but stops when he remembers that he doesn’t have the power of the universe

“Why do you always walk away?” Knapp asks coldly. “It shouldn’t be nothing if Sybil was crying.”

“Why. Don’t. You. Ask. Her,” Logy says every angry word as he gently pulls his wrist out of Knapp’s hand. “You need to be with her. It’s none of my business, and I don’t want to get involved with your relationship. You’ve been crossing the dangerous line for a long time now. This has to stop now.”

He stomps away, heading for the training room. Leaving Knapp behind.

~*~

THREE WEEKS LATER

Sybil has been in labor for more than twenty hours. Knapp has not left her side, not even for a minute. He even sent his entire team except Sky to training and other errands so they could be distracted doing something other than waiting for the birth. Tezuka’s wife Akane and Ryu’s girlfriend Rosa are keeping Katja occupied.

“She’s losing too much blood. She needs to go to the hospital,” Sky says anxiously. “Should we, Knapp?”

Sybil stops Knapp whose mouth is about to open, “No, don’t… The Locker will find us. You’re a doctor, aren’t you?”

“I-I’m just a healer,” Sky says nervously as he checks under Sybil’s blanket which is pretty much soaked in blood. “As you know, I only got two years of medical school before joining the Army… I can only do this…”

He places his hand on Sybil’s large stomach. It grows in a lime green light. When he finishes, he wipes his sweaty forehead with a rag. He continues, “I can heal you and your baby forth and back, but I’m about to be at my limit.”

“I-Is my baby’s head out yet?” Sybil hisses in pain, closing one of her eyes.

“No… You’re still 4 cm away from fully dilated.” Sky shakes his head. “Both you and your baby will die if we don’t go to the hospital.”

Knapp clenches his jaw a little bit in frustration. “Let’s go then.” 

“Hold on…” comes the voice of Double God.

“Ack! “ Sky yelps in surprise when Hikyou emerges right out of the floor.

“W-what are you doing here, HIkyou-sama?” Knapp asks.

“I sensed two presences losing their life forces pretty fast so I figured it would be them.” Hikyou walks smoothly, looking like he is almost sliding across, towards the panting woman. He takes Sybil’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you… Sybil.”

“Hikyou-sama?” Sybil asks weakly. “Are you here… to help us?”

Ignoring her question, Hikyou lifts one of his hands. Almost immediately, a flaming dark blue orb with a pair of tiny wings appears above his open palm. He turns to Knapp and says, “This is the main reason why I am here.”

“W-what is this?” Knapp asks.

“This is the soul of Dark Angel.”

“Whaaaat?” Sky cries as he heals Sybil as much as possible. “Wait a minute… Didn’t he disappear a thousand years ago after the Light and Dark Gods died? You mean… that Dark Angel also died? When?”

“Not too long after the Gods died,” Hikyou says. “He did not have any desire to live at that time and asked to be reincarnated into the next body who will support the new Light and Dark Gods.”

He turns to the struggling woman. “Sybil, this is --”

“Yes, I saw this in the vision…” Sybil smiles weakly. “I’m so glad you’re here, Hikyou-sama but… that isn’t for me, right?”

Knapp widens his eyes in realization. “Hikyou-sama, what the hell? You’re going to save the baby, but… not her?!”

“It’s okay, Knapp.” Sybil reaches out her hand so Knapp comes closer to take it in his own hand. “I knew this would happen… That was the reason why I talked to Logy a few weeks ago… As long as he is in your life, you won’t be alone.”

“N-no…” Knapp starts to choke up into sobs. “No, I won’t ever accept this…!” He looks up at Double God. “Hikyou-sama… why…? Why can’t you save her? You saved Tezuka’s and Ryu’s lives but why not Sybil’s…?!”

Sky keeps sniffing, trying to hold back tears but miserably failing to as tears are streaming down his face.

Sybil squeezes Knapp’s hand. “Knapp, please… I completely understand how you’re feeling… When I first saw this vision, I was in denial like you are… But now I’ve already accepted this. I love you… I’m glad I met everyone here.”

She glances back at HIkyou. “Please… Please save my baby.”

Hikyou moves his free hand through the air just above Sybil, who sighs lightly and becomes more relaxed. He says gently, “I promise to make sure that you are comfortable before passing on.”

Knapp wants so badly to run and stop Hikyou but for some reason his legs refuse to move. It is as if he is stuck in time.

Hikyou puts the Dark Angel’s soul into Sybil’s stomach, making her gasp lightly. A regular white flaming orb comes out in exchange and hovers just above Hikyou’s hand.

Just as quickly he had emerged from the floor, Double God has disappeared back into the Heart of the Fifth Universe.

“T-the baby is out!” Sky exclaims as he pulls the baby out and quickly brings him to a small crib. “It’s a boy!”

After quickly bathing the baby, Sky brings him to Sybil, who thanks him in return.

“Ketsu Mitsukai…” Sybil whispers and brings her baby closer to her chest. More tears are coming out of her eyes. “I’m so sorry… I won’t get to see you grow up. But you’re in good hands… because you will be one of the most powerful people in this universe. The vision showed me… I love you.”

She takes one final breath.