The Heart Of Time. Amy Blankenship

all spells before this battle. He’d been prepared in case Hyakuhei had tried to use The Guardian Heart Crystal against him.

      But this… he had not anticipated. He didn’t want Kyoko to be hurt… ever, not as long as he had the power to stop it.

      He did not struggle when the dark demonic phantoms sent by Hyakuhei slithered from the ground as if coming from some hidden nightmare and wrapped around his lethal body to hold him still. Kyou glanced at Toya seeing that fury burned in his younger brother's silver eyes.

      Hyakuhei had wrapped Toya within an onslaught of demonic phantoms, trying to keep him at bay but Toya was still struggling with a vengeance against them. Inwardly, Kyou was thankful for the restraints placed upon his brother… for without them, Toya would surely attack no matter the consequences. Just the sight of Kyoko in such danger had pushed Toya past the breaking point.

      Kyou could feel Toya's guardian power intensify with every heartbeat, along with his own power and the power of their brothers.

      Not ten feet away, Kotaro’s ice blue eyes widened in disbelief. He didn’t want to see Kyoko hurt but he couldn’t do anything to prevent it. Both his arms were bloodied from the battle and his legs were in no better shape. He was powerless to even attack right now as he struggled to stand, fighting against the pain. His mind still frozen in fear for the girl he loved more than anything.

      "Don’t you dare hurt her or I will hunt you even in hell, Hyakuhei," Kotaro hissed in a raspy voice, baring his sharp fangs as his ice blue eyes burned with his need for retaliation. The very air around him seemed to come to life with a vengeance as debris blew out in a circle around him from his powerful winds.

      Kamui was frightened, but seeing Kyoko struggling in the arms of Hyakuhei had snapped his mind. Multihued dust glittered within his angry eyes. Without thinking of the consequences, Kamui ran straight toward Hyakuhei with his claws bared, unthinkable courage born of his love for the priestess and seen by all.

      Hyakuhei's shadow demons repelled him back, slamming his body into the hard dirt and sending debris flying.

      Kaen snatched Kamui up in a tight hold, fire flying from his feet as he leapt to safety, always watching after the youngest guardian during battle. Laying a limp Kamui on the ground out of danger, Kaen turned fiery eyes on Hyakuhei and stood between the youngest guardian and danger.

      Suki was on her knees still holding her father in her arms. His body now lifeless and her hatred for Hyakuhei seethed inside her for killing Sennin. Her gaze now fastened on Kyoko, wishing she could save her best friend from the same cold fate that had befallen such a wise old man.

      Shinbe stood protectively in front of Suki, blocking her body from Hyakuhei's view. The wind from Kotaro’s anger blew Shinbe’s midnight blue hair about his face… lending a haunted expression to his knowing amethyst eyes. His worry for Kyoko intensified as he felt the power of the Crystal building.

      â€œNo….” the word left him as if he had the wind suddenly knocked out of him. Shinbe knew if Hyakuhei obtained the full power from the guardian heart crystal then both worlds would be in grave danger. A scalding tear raced down his cheek as he felt his heart shatter with the fact he could do nothing. “…Kyoko.”

      Hyakuhei looked around at the enemies who had stood in his way for so long… his own brother’s offspring. He knew they were afraid to attack him because he now held Kyoko as a shield and he could feel rage building all around him.

      His ebony wings expanded, creating a dark backdrop behind him as his equally dark eyes locked on the girl in his arms. "They are trying to protect you." He stated in a calm soothing voice, as if they were not in the midst of a battle but only watching it from the sidelines.

      He could feel the sacred guardian heart crystal that was still visible in the center of his naked chest. Her love for the guardians fighting to protect her was the only thing still keeping the crystal from sinking the rest of the way into his body and giving him the power he desired.

      The purity of that love was her power, and she was using it to try to draw the crystal from him… he could feel it. But he could also feel the power that was already coursing through his veins, and it made him only want more.

      His eyes softened for a moment as he whispered to her as if talking to a lover. “It’s not enough.”

      Hyakuhei decided he would use the power he had already gained from the crystal against Kyoko in a way that would destroy the bond of love that surrounded the small group. He knew he had to stop her… for her power alone was just as strong as the crystal she had once held within her. The same crystal that had once allowed him to love… only to then take that love cruelly from his grasp.

      He pulled Kyoko’s face flush with his and placed a gentle kiss upon her innocent lips. Staring into her stormy green eyes, he entered her mind using the power of the guardian heart crystal.

      Hyakuhei sought out her memories of the guardians whom she loved so dearly… he would take them from her. Stealing her memories of the people she fought for would weaken her power and strengthen his.

      Kyoko couldn’t blink. She felt his evil claws within her mind trying to destroy her memories and rip the reason for this fight from her… trying to take her love from her. Her friends, all of them, she wouldn’t allow it.

      Kyoko felt her control snap, leaving her with only one thing to use against him, and that was the very thing he was trying to take and destroy. Her eyes flashed with anger no longer suppressed. She latched her hands in his silky midnight locks and thrust their foreheads together, shaking with a tidal wave of power.

      Her voice piercing the silence of the battlefield, she screamed. "You want it that bad? HERE!! Take It!!!!"

      Kyou's golden eyes glowed intensely as fear shot through him like the blade of a hot knife. What was the priestess doing? He knew something was terribly wrong and felt his psychic powers call to him… urging him to listen and to see before it was too late! He narrowed that power and entered Kyoko's mind, trying to see what was happening. He would have fallen to his knees with what he witnessed had the shadow demons not been wrapped so tightly around him… holding him immobile.

      The images and sounds would be forever implanted within his mind’s eye and Kyou somehow knew he would never be able to shake the feelings that washed over him. For he realized by looking into her mind’s eye, Kyoko had harbored feelings of love for him as well as his brothers. He could see every touch, feel every emotion caress him and every hidden tear shatter him just as it must have her.

      Kyou was also shaken to the core with the rush as he realized Kyoko had more power than anyone had ever thought her to have… power even she was not aware of. He could see and feel every memory as it passed from her mind to Hyakuhei's as if it were shooting straight into his heart where he would never release it.

      Years of love, heartache, and sacrifice… given all in an instant.

      Angry tears streamed down Kyoko’s cheeks as she thrust every memory of love and friendship, pain and secret feelings she had for everyone that fought with her into Hyakuhei's mind. It was the only weapon she had left.

      Instantly, Hyakuhei’s evil was destabilized. Everyone felt the shift in power as the crystal started to blink from dark light to a blinding white light, and the shadow apparitions holding Toya and Kyou disintegrated into thin air.

      Kyoko watched as the angel of darkness became confused, his pale perfect face becoming distorted with pain.

      Just as she felt herself slipping, Kyoko reached both of her small hands out and grasped the crystal, pulling it from his flesh. She knew what had to be done, because she could already feel her mind losing its struggle with memories she didn’t want to forget. Crystalline tears ran paths down her already streaked cheeks.

      She had given her memories away in order to save them all. Quickly, before she lost the thought, she held the guardian heart crystal against her own chest… parallel with her heart.