Even Light, Even Darkness

Disclaimer: Honestly, people. If I owned the Outsiders, would Johnny and Dally have died??? And I don't own Asian Kung Fu Generation's song Aru Machi no Gunjo.
Author's Note: OMG! I just wanna watch Tekkon Kinkreet again... The BEST anime movie EVER!! And, y'know, we need a fanfiction thing for it, too... Lol, oh well... On with my fic?
Dedication: To all my faithful reviewers!

I still cannot wake from a dream that reaches my bedside,
A smell of morning makes the city alive,
The weather forecasting on the screen.

Ponyboy mumbled softly, rubbing cold hands sleepily on his closed eye lids. Though he didn't really wanna be up, he was anyway.

He'd been dreaming, dreaming a horrible dream. He was sure of it, but as sleep slowly ebbed away, it took away the last remnants of the murderous sense of destruction.

Thank God.

He blinked once, running his tongue over sleep-stained teeth, before grimacing. Shakily, he slipped from the empty bed and shuffled to the door where the news, oddly, was blaring. He peeked through, green-grey eyes lighting upon the wrestling Steve and Soda and the bored-looking Two-Bit.

No one looked up at his passing, and since the kitchen was dark, Ponyboy assumed automatically that Darry was still sleeping and softly opened the noisy door to the bathroom so he could do his morning routine.

It was Saturday, and though that meant a whole lot of nothing in particular, he wanted out of the house for bit. Even those short moments in the living room was much too claustrophobic for him. Plus, he had hoped rather strongly that maybe he could catch a movie or something with Johnny and Dally.

Ponyboy glanced silently out into then living room where both Steve and Soda had paused in their game to hydrate themselves. Soda noted his younger bother and grinned, waving cheerfully.

"Pony! Ya wanna go and hang out with me and Steve today?"

Pony shook his head, barely noticing the frown that Steve directed at him. "Naw, thanks anyway though. I'm gonna go catch a movie or somethin'. Any of you seen Johnny lately, I was hopin' he could go with me."

Two-Bit turned, eyes wide. All three Greasers stared at him, and Ponyboy frowned, "I'll take it as a no... Never mind, then." He reached absently for his jacket and hurried to the door, calling cheerfully over his shoulder, "Tell Darry that I'll be with Johnny and Dally!" And then, Ponyboy was out the door, hurrying across the street.

Soda turned to stare unblinking at Steve and Two-Bit, "What happened to him..."

Steve, honestly, looked just as worried. "No freaking clue."

Two-Bit shook his head, "Man, someone should go catch that kid... He's gonna be in for a real nasty surprise."

Day by day, I pray, I seek and scramble,
The world is dash rolling,
The chance meeting you, touching you
your everything is like a magic of love for me,
The city in leaden grey,
The mice are in the dull blues,
The heart beating so dim and unclear,
Only a little bit of white remains in my heart.

Golly, where was Johnny? Ponyboy paused in his random search for the dark-skinned Greaser, taking a deep breath of morning air. Sure, it was still a little too dark to be out moving around, but Johnny hadn't been in the lot, and after stopping but the Cade family house, all the lights were off... The house looked deserted, almost...

Ponyboy continued walking aimlessly until his path led him, oddly enough, to the city cemetery. In fact, he was still pondering over the uncanny movement of his feet when he caught glance of two of the gravestone's he was standing before. Johnny Cade, weeped one. Dallas Winston, mourned the other. Both held the years of their life-span, and words of such comfort, such as 'brother' or 'friend'. But neither was supposed to be there...

The breath froze hard in Ponyboy's throat, and the 'dream' came rushing back in a torrent of painful memories and sounds.

And with the look of a trapped animal, Ponyboy was off like a bullet; there was a reason he'd been made the first spot for all the sprints in the track meets.

The world was rolling, twisting, violently lurching... It hurt so badly. It hadn't been a dream, them seeing Dally's body fall in a heap of clothing, bullets peppering his body like fleas on dogs.

Stay gold... Why was he supposed to 'stay gold', again? Without the magic of his and Johnny's friendship, the world was like a twisted parody of life. And Ponyboy continued running, ignoring the burning ache in his lungs and the pounding of blood in his head.

Maybe, just maybe, he could run fast enough to escape the horror that the world had thrust upon him. Maybe, just maybe, Johnny wouldn't be dead when he stopped. And the memories of the unforgiving cries on the rumble night would be nothing more than a nightmare.

He scrambled past one of the many kids from his school, a new kid, he supposed, that watched him with dull blue eyes, much like those of Dally's, but with hair so much like Johnny's that his heart ached more, if possible. He left the unidentified person behind as a thin sheet of rain drifted from the sky.

And the figure like those dead watched him pass, pausing momentarily. They watched the receding back of the boy and sighed softly, eyes downcast. Ponyboy had been such a good friend... But now, that little tiny bit of white still left at the bottom of his heart was slowly being eaten away by guilt and anguish...

He needed some help.

I begin to run out because I want to fulfill my discontent,
Take a step forward and I'll see even the scenery disappears,
When I look up at the sky
Chasing those whimsical cloud with my eyes, I remember your face.

He'd closed his eyes after passing the uncanny figure that was a mix of the dead, trusting his feet to steer him clear of obstacles. Unfortunately, things like that are impossible to come by, and before he knew the difference, he was half-in and half-out of the fountain that had started the whole freaking mess.

Grumbling darkly to himself, Ponyboy sighed in defeat, slowly struggling out of the cold, drenching fountain of water that shrieked hypothermia in big bold lettering.

It was struggle for him to just walk to the nearby swings where he collapsed uneasily in one, tears mingling with the buckets of rain and chlorinated water from the wishing fountain. The water blinded him, and for a moment, Ponyboy relished the fact that he couldn't see. He couldn't see the mess he'd cause or see the object of ultimate demise that had stolen the lives of two of those closest to Ponyboy.

Furiously, Ponyboy blinked away the liquid that showed weakness, tilting his head to the sky that peeked sheepishly through the slight overhanging of the tree's branches.

A couple of the grey, formless figures chased each other while many more had frozen in their placed, dumping bucket upon bucket of water on the ever-dry city of Tulsa.

And with another sigh of mourning, Ponyboy closed his eyes, pretending in vain that the rain would wash away the face that haunted his memories.

I got tired of it and threw everything out,
I became black and collapsed,
I was lonely so I concealed it,
Everything became dreadful and I fell in the darkness.

His head fell slowly, coming to rest on his chest, hair hanging in front of his face. Blackness ate at the edges of his vision now, probably from the shock and cold. But he'd be okay, hopefully. Why? Because, the blackness was eating away at the pain too, numbing everything as it stole Ponyboy's vision.

And then his body fell slack as the darkness within took over.

An excursion to another world,
The deep, blue night,
Let us change the world,
What are we going to see from there?

Bleary grey eyes opened to the sound of wind dancing in the air.

Above him, night stretched forever in all directions. The deep blue sky, so warm, so comforting, sang with a sudden cheer. And then, it too disappeared as dark eyes - darker than midnight itself - appeared in front of Ponyboy's face.

Ponyboy sat up abruptly, smacking foreheads with that other person, and flopped backwards, brain humming in unexpected pain.

"Holy crap, Ponyboy! What was that for?"

Collect all of the things up that came bursting out both opened eyes,
You and me, let's float them all over the place.
Without the approach run, just jump and fly as high as we can,
At our kicking speed, we can go on forever,
I'm sure of it.

Ponyboy stared blankly up at his best friend. "J-Johnny!?"

The dark-skinned Greaser teen grinned. "Yeah. Who else would it be?"

"I-" Ponyboy paused to think about that. "Listen, Johnny... If you're here, where's Dally? Where're we?"

Johnny gave Ponyboy an odd look, "Dally's on his way, Pony. We decided we needed to talk to you."

Oh... So, it hadn't just been a twisted nightmare...

"Oh, alright." Ponyboy flopped backwards into the tall grass, running a hand through his suddenly dry hair. Everything consisted of pure silence for, maybe, three minutes.

In those three minutes of tranquility, Ponyboy watched Johnny. Sure, he was the same, but, there was something different. There was defiantly something different about the boy. A subtle change, but a change none-the-less.

Then, Dally scrambled up the hill. He flashed Johnny a grin then turned to Ponyboy.

"Hey, punk. How's your brothers?"

Ponyboy shrugged. He was still rather ticked that Dally and Johnny weren't real... That they were still dead. Damn the world and their evil, intentional ways of torture.

The only thing Ponyboy could really thank someone for was that both were whole. No pieces were gone. No bullet wounds. No burns. No paralysis. No missing limbs.

"Cool, hmmm?" Dally grinned after a moment, eyeing Ponyboy with barely contained glee. "I look like new again. Me an' Johnny, we're normal-lookin' again. And, kid, we like it here. Believe it or not, we actually like it here. No Socs, no nothing. Just us."

Ponyboy nodded dumbly, "Yeah, but still. I mean, don't you miss us? We missed you all so much..."

Johnny and Dally shared a grin, "Yeah, we know." Johnny scrambled to help Pony to his feet.

"Sorry, Pone, but it's time we headed back. We'll probably end up talking again. Just to, y'know, make sure you keep your head. But just so you know, drownin' yourself in that fountain won't help much."

Without warning, Johnny firmly grasped Ponyboy's hand, pressing a small, metal object there. "Y'gotta be able to remember it happened."

Ponyboy gave him a sorta odd look but then grinned sheepishly, "Yeah. I'll miss you too, Johnnycake. And, y'know, thanks."

"Tell everyone 'hey' for us, 'kay?"

A nod. "Yeah."

Then, Ponyboy watched his vision deteriorate. Bit-by-bit, and inch-by-inch, the picture faded away. Soon, only Johnny's smilin' face was left. Then, that, too, disappeared.

Even light,
Even darkness, surely.

Believe it or not, Ponyboy was still clinging to the swing as though it were a life-line to the real world. Except now, a small, six inch long switch blade - Johnny's - was now clutched in his hand.

Even light,
Even darkness, surely.

He was pondering why Johnny would pass him a switch blade to take back home... But then it hit him.

Honestly, Ponyboy had never been one to notice something truly subtle. Johnny's eyes was one of them. When Ponyboy had gazed into them, they'd no longer resembled a puppy's eyes. The eyes of a cocker spaniel baby that had been kicked too many times had disappeared.

And in it's place, a young boy had taken room. No longer pain and abuse was housed there, but laughter and love.

Oh, glory. Thank God.

Even light,
Even darkness, surely.

Ponyboy lurched out of the swing, and for a moment, he swayed angrily on his feet. A moment later, the feelings of motion sickness subsided, and Ponyboy was off again.

It seemed to take less time now that it did before. Now, he took no 'long ways', now he took no 'short cuts'. Now, he ran. Now, he ran home.

And as Ponyboy passed the cemetery where Johnny and Dally resided, he gave a cheery wave.

At home, he rushed inside. "I'm back!"

Even light,
Even darkness, surely.

Soda peeked over the back of the couch, face of worry changing into one of confusion. "Pone... Are you okay?"

"What happened back there, man?" Two-Bit turned from the TV, eyes wide.

Even Steve shared the concerned look. "You do know Johnny and Dally's dead, right?"

"Ye-up."

"Well?" Two-Bit grumbled softly, watching Ponyboy with confused eyes.

"Well, what?"

"What happened?" Now, Steve was confused, too.

"I had a dream. Nothing more, nothing less."

"About what, Pone?" though the others looked ultimately confused beyond imagination, Sodapop wasn't, and for that, Pony was grateful.

"What about whom?" Darry rubbed sleepily at one of his eyes, yawning a bit.

"Hey, Dar, catch." And without warning, Ponyboy gently tossed the switch blade at the oldest Curtis brother. The throw was underhand, of course.

Darry stared blankly at the metal. "Ponyboy. Where in the world did you find this?"

Ponyboy smiled in a content way, "Johnny gave it to me."

All the present Greasers shot a look at Ponyboy who smiled in a pleased manner.

"We buried with him," muttered Two-Bit through a mouthful of cereal.

"I know," came Ponyboy's demure voice.

"He's six foot under." This was Steve's reasoning.

"No. I like to believe he's still at the church. Him an' Dally." Again, Ponyboy's calming voice soothed their rapid pulses.

"How'd you get it, boy." That was Darry. Every so harsh without meaning to be.

Ponyboy smiled, "He gave it to me. Right before I left."

Soda seemed to be the only braniac in the group. "Why, Pony?"

"'Cause," grinned the youngest Greaser soothingly, "He ain't a kicked puppy no more. He means to say that he an' Dally'll be there, waiting for us, when it's our time to go. That there's no suffering there. That we can be together again; all of us."

Ponyboy stumbled off to the bedroom to sleep more. To sleep a pleasant sleep that he deserved. As he was drifting off, his eyes caught a pair of dancing blue, right outside his window.

Rather than be frightened or scared or surprised, Ponyboy smiled and waved, "See ya later, Johnny, Dally."

Grinning wryly, the figure turned away from the sleeping teen, towards the grey heavens. A light sprinkle still fell, and as three pairs of shimmering white and silver wings appeared, the figure left the ground.

The Seraph, as it was known to be called, shimmered itself now as the thin, translucent being continued back to where those like itself belonged.

Silver: OMG! Yes!! Finally! Another update!!
Pony: ... What's so special now?
Soda: -:sweatdrop:- She had more than 8 pages in 12 point font.
Two-Bit: And she's had too much sugar.
All: -:nod, nod:- True, true.
Johnny: ...Why'd the dead chick have my hair?
Dally: Dude! Why'd the dead chick hav emy eyes!?! Am I blind now??
Soda: Naw, the perosn was justa tiny mix of you and Johnny, send from 'God' to do his bidding. Do notice that right before Pony faints, he sees the same person. Do not the person. Not girl. Person. He sees said person, later faints... Blah, blah, blah. Then meets Johnny!
Steve: Why was I so caring?
Darry: Why was I so... Not mutilated!?! THANK GOD!! -:hallelujiah:-
Silver: To Steve, I wanted you to sound caring. Or else. To Darry, you're awesome... How could you possible be bad?!
Darry: I think I love you! -:cries:-
Silver: Nope! Sorry, I'm, uhh, Dally's.
Dally: ... Whatever.
Silver: See? He loves me. Or else. :)
Dally: H-helllp...
All: -:inches away slooooowly:-
Silver: OMG! Noo! Tomorrow... TODAY! I must go and help cook food!
Pony: HAHA!
Dally: Sucks for you.
Silver: Now I need to make a Thanksgiving fic... But I'll probably post it next year.
All: -:deep sigh of relief:-
Dally: Like you really need another story to try and update. You can't even update the ones you have alreday!
Silver: TT -:emo-ishly runs off:-
All: -:smacks Dally:-
Soda: Well, uhh... Since Silver ran off, cause Dally was bein' mean... I'll rant for her?
Soda: Tell her what you think! She'll probably print it off tomorrow or soemthign random like that, then give it to her friends to beta... Crazy woman. -:sweatdrop:-
Soda: Uhh, please stay on the look-out for the story I get to be the main character for! It'll be called "A Life of Their Own", at this point in time.
Soda: By the way, please do go listen to the actual song. The English lyrics do the song no justice. It's by Asian Kung Fu Generation, called Aru Machi no Gunjo.
All: Merry (Early) Turkey Day!!

Silver-Serval, signing out.