The Gold Paladin

All Things Well...

🦁🦁🦁~~~~🦁🦁🦁

"No... Nov.... ake up... please..." A voice shouted to her, pleading worriedly.

A searing pain rushed through Novae's chest as she slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was fuzzy for a moment, but slowly her vision became clear, and all she could see was a clear starlit sky glowing in a multitude of colors.

"Novae! Thank goodness, you're awake." The voice said again. Novae turned her head towards the voice and saw Keith sitting beside her with a relieved smile on his face.

"Keith...?" She whispered as the pain came right back from the virus and the stab wound in her chest. Novae tried to stand up, but groaned in pain. Keith quickly helped her sit up and checked her wound.

"Are you okay?" Novae asked.

"Am I okay? Worry about yourself, you got stabbed through the chest. And that virus is still in your system." Keith said more concerned for Novae than himself or the strange place they were in at the moment.

"Keith. Novae." Another voice called out to them. The two looked around to see something nothing around but the empty space. But they right away whose voice it was.

It was Shiro.

"Where are you, Shiro? Show yourself!" Keith shouted.

"I know this must be confusing for the two you." Shiro replied.

Keith activated his bayard and readied for any type of attack that may come their way.

"What is this place? Where are we? You-- you were trying to kill me. You killed Novae! The others! You-- you said you..."

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew from behind them. With all the remaining strength she had, Novae forced herself to her feet and turned around to see what was happening. Instantly, she felt a strange sensation rush through her chest and her heart skipped a beat when she saw something appear in front of them.

A bright light shone in front of them, shifting its form to take on a more prominent shape. A familiar shape to the two Paladins.  When it finally came to view, Novae and Keith were stunned to see Shiro standing there. Tall and proud, but his eyes filled with sadness and regret.

"I'm not here to harm you. Everyone is fine. Just let me explain." Shiro said sadly.

"How do I know that you're not just tricking us?" Keith shouted and went to attack, but Novae put her arm out in front of Keith to stop him from going any further.

"Don't attack, Keith." She said, never taking her eyes off of Shiro. She walked closer to Shiro, each step giving her more pain than before. Shiro stepped closer and closer, until the two met in the middle.

"It's been a while." Shiro said. Novae smiled and quickly wrapped her arms around his body in a hug, to which he returned it.

"This is the Takashi I remember. The real Takashi." Novae said with a sigh of relief.

"Novae what are you talking about?" Keith asked.

"The thing that attacked you wasn't me. Since my fight with Zarkon, I've been here." Shiro answered.

"When you disappeared?"

Shiro nodded, "Yes. I didn't know where I was or how much time had passed. My physical form was gone. I existed on another realm. I died."

Novae and Keith's eyes widened at the news that Shiro had died, but Novae stood with her head held down as she moved away from Shiro. Unlike her, he couldn't come back from the grave, and that is something that saddened her greatly. She lost him, everyone lost him forever.