"Beneath the Ashes, a Little Dragon Slumbers, Nurturing the remnants of a past consumed,From these ashes, a great dragon will rise."
Inside Of The Infirmary, Selene And Aaliyah Have A Conversation Of Yesterday's Events…
Sitting Up On Her Bed, With Bandages Wrapped Around Her Arms And Torso, Selene Looks Over To Aaliyah, Her Face Filled With Worry And Curiosity.
Selene(Serious): Are You Okay Ma? You Haven't Said Anything Since Yesterday.
Aaliyah Looks Over To Selene… As An Image Of A Younger Selene Shows In Her Mind.
Aaliyah(Somber, Serious With Her Eyes Slightly Closed And Black Lines Underneath Them): Selene… I'm Sorry I Haven't Always Been Able To Protect You When You Were A Kid…
Selene(Sighing, Serious): How Long Are You Going To Keep Apologizing For That Ma? It's Alright… The Things That Grandma And Cain Did To Me, That's All In The Past. And It Was Beyond Your Control…
Selene(Curious): What's Those Black Lines Underneath Your Eyes?
Aaliyah(Confused): What?
Selene(Pointing, Demonstrating By Running Her Fingers Down Her Cheeks From Her Eyes): There're Black Lines Going Down From Your Lower Eyelids To Halfway On Your Cheeks… What Happened Yesterday?
Aaliyah(Somber): Probably From That Berserker State I Was In Yesterday…
Selene's Eyes Slightly Widen In Confusion And Curiosity…
Selene(Curious): Berserker State?
Aaliyah(Nodding): When Asami Trapped Me Inside Her Time-Space Domain, She Made Me Have Nightmares About How I Wasn't Able To Protect You From Your Father's Abuse… And When The Grand Elder Manipulated Me Into Killing Jason… I Guess I Had A Mental Breakdown Which Caused Me To Lash Out And… Yeah.
Aaliyah(Somber): Ever Since "That" Day, I've Been Having Nightmares Of You And Jason One Day, Dying Before Me… And Ever Since I Was Manipulated Into Killing Jason… I've Been Dealing With PTSD And Anxiety, Even Depression, And I Know You're An Adult Now, But When I Look At You I Still See That Baby From Twenty One Years Ago, And…
Aaliyah Wipes Her Face As Tears Stream Down Her Eyes, Selene Looks Over At Her Expression Softens As She Looks Down…
Selene(Softly): Mom… You Did Protect Me, Even If You Don't Realize It… That Night When I Was Born, And You Performed That Ritual For The All See'r To Protect Me… If Not For That, I'd Probably Be Either Dead Right Now, Or Suffering A Fate Worse Than Death…
Selene(Softly Smiling): But Even When I Felt That I Was Alone, I Knew That You Loved Me And Aunt Sachiko Was There In Your Place To Protect Me.
Aaliyah Looks Over To Selene, Softly Smiling As The Moonlight Shines Through The Window And Onto Selene's Face, Showing Her Dark Grey Eyes…
Aaliyah Then Sits Up, As She Continues Smiling At Selene…
Aaliyah(Softly): Do You Know Why I Named You Selene?
Selene(Curious):
Aaliyah(Happy): It's Because When You Were Born, You Reminded Me Of The Moon. Even In The Darkest Of Nights, The Moon Continues To Shine Brightest, Lighting Up The Sky… I Knew You Would Grow Into Someone Who Could Guide Others Through Their Darkest Times, Just Like The Moon Does…
Aaliyah(Happy): And Right At You're Birth… The Moon Shined Right Through The Window And Right Onto Your Face, As You Opened Your Eyes.
Selene(Chuckling): That Sounds Like Something Out Of A Fantasy Story, Haha.
Selene(Chuckling): You've Always Seen The Best In Me, Even When I Couldn't. But… What About You Ma? You've Always Been My Inspiration, My Light. Even When You Think You've Failed.
Aaliyah Wipes Away Her Tears, Her Smile Growing Stronger As She Listens To Selene's Words.
Aaliyah(Softly): I've Made Mistakes… A Lot Of Them. But Knowing You And Jason Are Still Here And Alive, Gives Me Hope… And Reminds Me That I Haven't Failed Completely. You Two Are My Greatest Accomplishments.
Selene(Firm): And We're Not Going Anywhere… And Neither Are You, Ma… Not While We're Still Young And Beautiful!
Aaliyah Laughs… Happy Tears Falling Out Of Her Eyes.
Aaliyah(Smiling): You're Right About That! You've Grown Into Such A Strong And Beautiful Woman Selene.
Selene(Scoffing, Prideful): One Of My Best Attributes Is Getting My Good Looks From My Hottie Mom! No One Else Even Comes Close To You In Looks… Hahaha.
Aaliyah(Laughing): You're So Full Of Yourself, Hahaha… Though I Suppose That's Something Else You Get From Me.
Selene And Aaliyah Laugh Together As They Continue To Bond…
**Meanwhile**
At The Main Dojo In The Center Of The Village, The Following Morning… Jason And Kaida Begin Their Training To Become Stronger… As Kaida Sits In Front Of The Shrine Of Her Late Mother And Sister.
She Closes Her Eyes And Puts Her Hands Together And Silently, Preys…
Then Suddenly Jason Takes Off His Shoes As He Enters The Dojo, Walking Silently To Sit Next To Kaida In Front Of The Shrine And He Puts His Hands Together And Closes His Eyes…
Kaida Opens Her Eyes, To See Jason Sitting Right Next To Her… As She Slightly Smiles, And Continues Praying.
Jason(Whispering, Eyes Closed): It's Peaceful Here…
Kaida(Eyes Still Closed, Whispering): Yeah. It Help's Me Feel Closer To Their Spirits… Sometimes I Can Even Hear Them Communicating Directly To Me, And Still Guiding Me Even From Beyond The Grave, And Beneath The Ashes.
Jason(Whispering, Eyes Opened): It's Comforting Isn't It? Knowing That The People You Look Up To, Are Still Guiding You From The Spirit Realm?
Kaida(Whispering, Softly): It Is. But It's Also A Reminder, That I Have To Live Up To Everyone's Expectations Of Me Within This Village. And To Do That, I Have To Get Stronger.
Jason Looks Over To Kaida, A Mixture Of Empathy And Determination In His Gaze.
Jason(Firm, Whispering): You're Already Strong, Kaida. You've Experienced Things Even Adults Would Be Broken By. But You're Still Here, And Still Fighting.
Kaida Opens Her Eyes Fully, And Turns Her Face To Him. For A Moment, Her Expression Is Unreadable, But Then A Faint Smile Forms.
Kaida(Soft, Almost Teasing): You're One To Talk. You're Carrying More Weight Than Any Kid Like Us Should Have To. And Yet, You're Still Sitting Here, With Me.
Jason(Nods, Thoughtful): Maybe. But As Long As I Have Cool Friends Like You, Giving Me Strength… I Know We Can Get Through This… Together.
Kaida's Cheeks Turn Red, As She Begins To Blush.
Kaida(Softly) Y- Yeah… We Do.
Jason Looks At The Shrine, His Let's Out A Sigh…
Jason Then Stands Up, His Voice Firm And Resolute.
Jason(Serious): We Won't Let Anyone Else We Care About End Up Like This. No More Graves, No More Ashe's. Well Keep Pushing Forward… for Them. And For Ourselves.
Jason Then Extends His Hand Out Toward Kaida, As She Looks Up At Him And Blushes As The Wind Blows Through The Dojo's Windows And The Sun Shines Onto Her Face… Jason's Shrouded In The Shade.
Kaida Then Takes Jason's Hand And Stands Up, As The Two Lock Eyes… As They Ready Themselves For Training…
"From Under The Ashes, A Little Dragon Begins Eating Away At Them… Igniting The Blue Sparks Of Fire In Her Soul, Until A Big Dragon Emerges"
To Be Continued, In Chapter 68…