Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew, and I never will unless I meet Mia Ikumi someday and she sees how dedicated I am—not just another rambling, psycho fan,--and therefore signs me the rights. Capiche? Good.

Ah, so this is the last chapter! It was originally two, but to be honest they were short, so I decided on one uber-long chapter. I'm quite excited—my first multi-chapter story finished! My other finished stories are all one-shots… but to be honest, I'll miss this one. It's very dear to me. Sorry that there was no warning that this would be the last… It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I think it was a good one…

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This was because Kish had harmed Pudding, who I had come to care for more than anyone else on the planet.

I threw myself into the frenzy, screaming in anger as I launched myself at Kish, at Pai, at Pudding's lifeless body. "HO RAI KYUU!" I cried again, my voice rising in pitch to an octave that rivaled one of Pudding's own. "PUDDING!" No one seemed to hear, and no one stopped me as I launched myself at the chimera animal.

Now came the tricky part. I had never worked with animal form parasites—I was much more for plants. There was no choice, however, but to attempt what I never had before. I summoned my will to call Pudding's soul away from the chimera animal.

The parasite, a creature native to our adopted world, cannot function without a soul inside it. While in nature it will latch onto it's prey and actually live as a symbiotic helper, we use a reaction that makes it malicious, that causes it to damage the soul rather than strengthen it. The purity of Pudding's soul attracted the parasite very much, and with its primitive brain, it seemed to protest that it did not want to let go. I could always talk reasonably with the plants about such things, but animals, especially humans? The process of freeing the soul was long difficult.

"Tart, attack them!" My concentration was jarred as the signals pulsed through my nervous system. I felt the dreamlike trance settle over me as my own blood attempted to move my arms, as the human blood cells amongst my own attempted to obey their commands. No. No. I wouldn't obey. Pudding's life was in danger here. My concentration was jarred, and I could feel the blood straining in my veins. My blood, corrupted by Lettuce's blood, wanted to listen. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to focus. This was for Pudding. I eased the soul away from the parasite and collapsed from the effort of fighting my own blood. I couldn't keep an eye on Pudding's soul any longer. I would have to simply pray that it would find her body and she would live.

As soon as I relaxed, my body rose of it's own accord. My mind was surprisingly clear, as though fighting my own blood had cleared it. I didn't care about holding off the commands, and let the orders from the humans run through my body, no longer cared as I lunged forward and attacked my friends. How could I even continue to consider them my friends? They had hurt Pudding.

"TAR-TAR!" I spun around, and saw Pudding rise and run over to me, staring in horror. I caught a glimpse of my face in one of the overly shined tiles of the floor, and made out my reddened eyes, red as the blood cells had burst from the effort of disobeying my life force. "Tar-tar, are you hurt? Your eyes!"

"Look out!" I yelled as Pai flew at her. I leapt in front of Pudding, and screamed as I felt the blast of air from his Kuu Rai Sen fan. It was painful, as though grains of sand were caught in the whirling air, and I felt it tear through my thin, insubstantial human shirt, whipping my back as I fell to my knees, protecting Pudding with my body. "Pai, stop! I'll go with you!" I yelled as the air flew around me, hitting Pudding. "I'll go Pai! I don't care if you kill me, don't hurt her!" How strange it was, to say that. How strange it was to be willing to sacrifice my life for Pudding, something I had been unable to do for my entire species. I knew that it was irrational, for a weak, inferior being to mean so much. Why was I willing to die for her? Shouldn't I go with Pai with no regrets to save my people, not a single, insignificant human?

But she was significant to me… The power of the Kuu Rai Sen winds could kill her, and I would never let that happen.

"Tar-tar?" Pudding gasped, seizing my hand. "What are you doing? Don't get yourself killed, Tarutooo!" A tear leaked out of one of her eyes, and I felt the crazy urge to brush it away. Since I had made it very clear that I was a traitor, I surrendered to the wish, and then stood up. Pai had stopped his attack, and was looking at me oddly.

"Aren't they," I began, gesturing to the mews, even to those two men who had controlled me so painfully, "people too?" I looked back at Pudding, and gave her a sad, half-smile. People say it's noble to die to save someone that you love, but they never mention how hard that said person you love will cry. No one ever talks about them looking stunned, in shock, no one ever mentions the regret that flows from their face, and no one ever mentions you wondering if you're doing the right thing after all, by condemning the person you love to grief. Nevertheless, what else could I do? I refused to let any tears fall from my face as I started towards Pai.

"Ribbon Pudding Ring Inferno!" I felt a huge Pudding Ring close around me, and realized to my shock that I could no longer move. I watched in horror as Pudding leapt at Pai, as the blue girl, Mint, shot her arrow at Pai. Pai was thrown backwards by the force of the waves of the arrow, rolling out of her bow, throwing my friend, my nemesis, a loyal member of my race, the race I myself had abandoned, into a wall. I watched Pai rise and hurl Pudding backwards with a gust of wind, watched helplessly, unable to move.

The tip of one of Kish's Dragon Swords plunged into the Pudding Ring, deflating it, freeing me. I looked up at my friend. "I'll go with you, I swear, if you leave Pudding alone," I begged, staring into Kish's eyes, pleading that he would understand. The flash of pity in his eyes let me know that he did; didn't he himself feel the same way about Ichigo? Wouldn't he die for her?

Kish placed a hand on my shoulder. "Pai! Let's move out! We're here for Tart, not to kill everyone else. We can do that later!"

Pai looked up, his face resigned as he teleported to avoid a blast from the strawberry surprise, which narrowly missed the purple wolf girl—Zakuro? —'s ear. "You're right," he said, teleporting. Kish took hold of my unresisting arm.

"TAR-TAR!" The last thing my keen ears comprehended as I faded from existence was Pudding's keening scream of grief.

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I followed Kish and Pai into a room, one of the labs, followed them to a large, opaque tube. I looked at a row of vials with a pang—a science genius I was not, but I could tell that they were Kish's antidotes, the tests of the one he'd been trying to create to save me. If only he could have finished it, then this wouldn't be happening. I would have lived to see my eleventh birthday.

I fought back my own terror as I lay down in the tube, trying to force myself to accept my fate. How hard it was not to scream as the top slid shut over my face. How hard it was not to claw and pound at the insides of the death machine as I heard Pai turn it on. But oh, how hard it was to resist that smell, that smell of flowers that lulled me to sleep, that made it hard to think, hard to breathe.

Maybe it was all a dream. But even if it wasn't, maybe I could fall into one last dream, a dream about Pudding. I could feel the blood pounding slowly through my veins as my heart slowed down, before I latched onto that ultimate thought and fell into my final, never-ending dream.

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How many people want to kill me for ending it that way? I don't blame you at all if you do. Tart! Please don't die! Oh wait, it's my fault… What have I DONE?

Well, I'm anxious to hear your opinions! The review button keeps me alive… don't starve me to death by depriving me of the reviews that I live off of.