Heroes

Chapter 26: Reaching Nouvelle

2 days had passed as quickly as cars driving on the highway. We were in the Lever Du Soleil River, just 20 minutes away from the countryside town of Nouvelle which is the biggest town in the Mieux Region of Sourire. The river was a very important part of Nouvelle's history of imports and exports due to the fact it had no known narrow spots or rocky areas. I was getting my jacket on when out of the blue, the boat stopped and shook. I held onto the bed during the tremor. The two lamps on the nightstands beside Lou and I's bed fell on the floor and shattered. "What was that?!" Lou exclaimed, clutching onto the wardrobe in our room.

      I looked around and replied, "I have no idea."

      "Hey, guys, we have a problem," Briar spoke through the intercom. "The Remembrance is stuck."

        "That's just wonderful. We're stuck, we don't have half of what we need to prevent the end of the world, and Dad still hasn't gotten the courage to propose to Suzume!" Rue griped.

         Suzume blushed bright red, and Shiro went pink with embarrassment. Briar jumped down into the river, holding onto the chains of the boat's anchor so she wouldn't get swept away by the mildly strong currents. She dunked her head underwater to get a better look at the cause of the Remembrance's trouble. Briar saw large, black spikes jutting through the hull of the boat. Briar swam underneath the Remembrance to get a closer look at the damage and the spikes. As Briar got closer, she saw an engraving on one of the spikes. It was the Japanese character for "K". There were two of them. Briar swam back to the surface in a rush. She jumped up onto the bow and Arianna questioned, "So, what's wrong?"

          "That criminally insane Kuragari creep!" Briar yelled in a moment of rage. "He pierced the ship with spikes! Worst of all, a grand ship like the Remembrance!"

             "Seems like even in the daylight as he hides in the darkness, Kuragari will always try to stop us," I muttered.

Sitting on the couch, Sagira commented, "There is no way we'll get to Nouvelle like this, let alone all over the world."

"She's right. We have to repair this boat as soon as possible, Briar. We should abandon ship for now," I said. "We'll walk."

"Absolutely not! I'm not leaving the Remembrance alone while she's in this state!" Briar argued, crossing her arms and stomping her foot down.

Espinho put a hand on Briar's shoulder. Mom sighed and questioned, "Briar, honey, what's more important to you? The fate of your loved ones and the world, or a boat?"

Briar thought for a minute before sighing. "Fine," she complied, grumbling. "But if she gets even more damaged while we're away, I'm rebuilding her and leaving all of you."

We crossed over the river bank. There was a town in the distance. That town was Nouvelle. Pascal was tired and slow, so Lou picked him up and carried him on his back. Nouvelle was a charming town in the countryside region of the Mieux Region. The closest town was the town of Rêve, the capital of the Mieux Region and a college town. It was home to Monter University. After about 30 minutes of walking, we reached Nouvelle. I'll admit, that I love small towns and villages, especially charming, cutesy, picturesque, and historical ones. I was instantly captivated by Nouvelle. "Caray, Kira, you actually look calm for once," Lou remarked, walking beside me with a sleepy Pascal on his back.

I smiled and said, "It's hard not to be in a place like this. Look at this place. It's gorgeous. It could be the setting of a fantasy book."

"Sounds like a job for you," Lou responded. "Miss Write-O-Matic."

We laughed. Dahlia was walking beside Sagira and Rue. She looked up. Sitting on a lush, green hill, the church we needed to get to stared at us. "Up there. That's the church we need to go to, right?" Dahlia asked.

             I nodded and said, "Yeah. That's it."

             Briar was shifting her eyes all over the place. Espinho was walking by her. "Are you okay?" he asked. "You seem like you're looking for something."

             "I'm fine. I'm just...looking around at the scenery," Briar lied.

               Briar looked down. She rustled money in the pockets of her jeans. She had millions of thoughts. The next gem, the fate of Kuragari and the world, her father and sister, her schoolwork, and the Remembrance all took up space in her head. As Briar walked, lost in her thoughts, a girl was running right at her, seemingly in a rush. Espinho saw the girl and yelled, "Hey, Briar, watch out!"

              Briar lifted her head a little too late, so I pulled her out of the way. The girl had gotten caught off guard, so she stopped, but ultimately fell on the cobblestone streets. We all looked at her. She had cinnamon hair with a red streak in her bangs. She wore a clip that was shaped like two cherries in her wavy hair, a white shirt with a bubblegum-colored crescent moon and star, red shorts, knee-high lavender socks, white slip-on shoes, and a light blue and white letterman jacket. She looked about 18. She lifted her head. She had a small gash above her left eyebrow. All of us couldn't help but notice the girl's face. Besides the gash that had formed, the girl's face resembled Briar's to an uncanny degree. I helped the girl up. "Sorry about that," the girl apologized. "I was in a rush. I have to meet my dad for lunch. I promised him I would because I never have time because of school."

              I looked at the girl. Stitched on the upper right side of her letterman jacket, white letters read, "B. D. Donegal". Briar noticed that too and her eyes widened as she got closer to the girl. The girl raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?" she asked Briar.

              Briar nodded quickly and inquired, "Are you Blythe Delphine Donegal?"

              Blythe nodded slowly, examining Briar. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she stared at her identical face. "Briar?" she spoke, getting excited. "You're Briar, aren't you?!"

              Briar nodded. The rest of us just kind of looked at each other, awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Blythe hugged her. "I can't believe you're actually here! I thought meeting you was just a fever dream! Come on, Dad will be so happy!" Blythe squealed, taking Briar's hand and trying to lead her to their father.

             Briar planted her foot down and said, "I'd love to meet him and I'm very happy to meet you, but I have to go do something. I can't leave them behind."

               "Briar, don't worry about us," I told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "This is an important moment for you. We'll be fine without you."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure. Go on."

Briar nodded and let Blythe lead her to their father. We all felt happy for her, but we were all wearing urgent expressions on our faces. We had to find the Balance Gem and fast. If Kuragari had no problem sabotaging the Remembrance, he could be lurking around in the shadows of Nouvelle. What if he was close to getting the gem for himself? As those thoughts lingered, I began to run as fast as I could toward the Beníe Church. The others ran after me, trying to keep up.

  
                     Under my breath, I muttered, "You aren't going to take our souls and lives away. As long as I live, I won't let you destroy our world. That I promise, Kage Kuragari."

                    We raced for the third gem. Our only hope was these gems.

((LES GO! Also, if you didn't know, the cultures the cities have been based off of actual countries and cities. Zahrat was based on Egyptian villages, Pradaria De Joias was based off Lisbon, Portugal, and Nouvelle is based off of countryside towns in France.))