The Broken Doll

Alternate Chapter 21

His heart was beating fast again, and a fluttering in his stomach made him feel queasy, but it wasn't a bad feeling. He could feel himself blushing, but something kept him from answering right away. Yuma looked at Astral questioningly. He knew that Astral's mission depended on him holding the Key and dueling in his stead, so mentally he asked his partner, Should I?

Astral was shocked that Yuma used their bond to ask. He wanted to be mad that Yuma would even consider this, but he found he didn't care about the mission anymore. Eliphas can make someone else to fulfill the mission. Besides, I can tell you're starting to like her. Do as you please.

Yuma didn't miss the jealousy in Astral's voice, and he hugged him. There'll be enough room in my life for you too, you know. There always has been, and you'll always be my number one.

Astral smiled and hugged him back, a small blush dusting his cheeks. Thank you.

Now that he had Astral's approval, Yuma needed to really consider this. He was silent for a good few minutes before asking Shing, "Will I still be able to see my friends and family?"

Shing shrugged. "Well, they can move into the city if they wish."

This made Yuma's decision final. "Then if it means I can still stay with you, sure!"

"You do realize that you'll be living a grand life now, right? This isn't going to be all fun, you know?"

"I know. I'm not stupid."

Astral snickered. "Oh, I beg to differ."

Shing popped her head out of the blanket with a knowing grin. "I'll have to agree with Astral on that."

Yuma puffed out his cheeks in a pout and crossed his arms. "Hey, not cool!" 

Shing and Astral both giggled, but a sudden thought popped into the girl's head, making her blush. "Also, do you know you have to..." She couldn't bring herself to say it, but she had to get it out there if she wanted to be with Yuma forever. So she swallowed and hid to try again. "Do you know you have to...marry me to be king?"

Yuma knew this very well. He knew that to be a ruler with someone, both parties had to be married. While it seemed like a strange idea to get married at his age, he wanted to be with her to make sure she was alright. He was already taking a liking to her, so it shouldn't be too big of an issue, right? "I know," he replied, pulling the blanket back just enough to expose her head. 

"I've caused you enough pain and suffering," she mumbled. "I don't want to force you into anything else."

At this, Yuma giggled at how silly she was being. "I owe you my life!" he exclaimed, hugging her happily. "You wouldn't be forcing me to do anything."

"You don't owe me anything. If I never came here, you and your friends wouldn't have suffered."

But Yuma didn't like thinking pessimistically. As per usual, he liked to look at the bright side of things. "If you never came, I never would have met you."

"I guess..." Shing still couldn't look him in the eye. How did she go from mentally torturing this poor boy to suggesting they get married? It seemed too ridiculous. Suddenly, though, she got up with the blanket still wrapped around her. "Hey, wanna take a trip?"

"Of course!" Yuma's reply was instant. 

"Then go gather your friends." As Yuma hurried off to gather his friends, Shing turned to Yuri, who was silently watching everything. "Yuri sweetheart, call home for me."

Yuri came out from behind the trees and nodded, rolling his eyes a bit. "Yes, whatever you say."

As he was handling that and Yuma was gathering his friends, she waited in the trees. She could hear the conversation between Yuri and Vegeta, and she knew that the first king was clearly not happy.

Well, Shing figured, he'll have to deal with it. I'll have my Yuma.

Nearly an hour passed before Yuma came back with a group of friends and, of course, his remaining family members. It took quite a while to convince them about the news, and even more time to convince Akari most of all of the decision he'd made, but in the end, she'd allowed him to do as he pleased. After all, it wasn't a fate worse than death.

Yuma and Astral looked around the clearing, looking for the girl. Where was she? Surely, this was where they left her, right? 

Just as the group was about to split up and look in different places, a sleek black panther leaped down from the trees and bumped Yuma so he fell onto her back. Shocked but laughing, Yuma adjusted himself so he would be secure on her. Then, a portal that looked like an overlay network opened up. Shing walked in, and everyone else followed.

On the other side were two people waiting. One of them, as the people who knew about the Barians were shocked to see, was Vector. The second one was a strongly-built man with spiked black hair, intense eyes, and a brown belt wrapped around his waist, though Astral could have sworn it was too fuzzy to be a belt.

"It's good to finally have you back," the strange man said.

Shing smiled at him. "Has the city fallen to pieces without me?" she joked.

"Not at all, but the people are on edge."

"Well, at least that's a comforting thought. Anyway, you'd be be surprised who's here. Vector, call for a city meeting."

Vector nodded. "Yes, my queen." Just as he was about to leave, though, he was called back.

"Oh, and Vector?" Shing called.

"Yes?"

"You are relieved of your duties as regent."

A look of pure relief spread across his face. Smiling, he bowed and raced off to call the city meeting. Finally, they group began to make their way to the palace. Along the way, the guests were looking around the city in awe. It was certainly bigger than Heartland, and there were far more interesting people than there were in Heartland. Oh, there were definitely colorful characters in Heartland, but these people were certainly more interesting, physically.

Bells went off just as they arrived at the palace, and they went off up to the balcony. Looking at the crowd, there was more than one familiar face, but it was expected for Astral and Yuma. They knew that there was going to be more than one version of themselves, so it was amusing to see their friends' faces scrunch up in confusion.

The man with the fuzzy belt held out his hand. "There's no reason to fear or worry my people!" he announced. "The queen of our fair city has been found!"

At this, the crowd below cheered loudly. When Shing came out, the cheering increased in volume.

"My people!" she called, and the crowd silenced. "There will be new additions to our city, and I'm happy to announce that one will be the third king." Shing turned back to them and waved Yuma over.

As he stepped out onto the balcony and looked over the masses, Yuma knew there was a long road ahead of him. It would definitely be difficult, but he knew he would have his friends by his side to help him along.

Yes, this was definitely going to be great!

~.THE END.~

A/N: A happier ending for people who didn't like the original ending. :D Thanks for reading!