A/N: Wow. Okay, um...yeah. I just beat the human arc of Radiata Stories today. I beat the nonhuman arc some time ago, and I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed the human arc a little bit more. It was practically ten times more sad, yes, but I felt it explained quite a bit more. Plus, there were so many likable characters.

Anyways, I always kind of pictured Jack and Elena together. I got her for the fireworks festival, and gosh darn it, can you say awesome semi-crack pairing?

Don't get me wrong, I like JackxRidley too, it's just that JackxElena is what seemed to work better on my human arc. Of course, we all know how much fun love triangles can be as well.

Anyways, the ending was just so lovely on the human arc that I felt the need to write this little...hmm. I don't really know what to call it. It'll probably remain a oneshot drabble, but I may add on to it later.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy!

Tick, tock.

That was the clock. How scrambled has time honestly become since that day? The minutes either fly by or tick on slowly as an hour.

I opened my eyes, slowly and reluctantly. Had I honestly dozed off? It seemed like sleep was so futile now—but I always felt so tired these days. Humanity was saved. I would know—I'd been there, after all. I should have been at the Olacion Order with Adina. I should have been apologizing to Lady Anastasia.

I should have been outside, enjoying the breeze and the fresh air, relishing in the fact that the world was saved and that never again would humanity have to face the fear of extinction. I could have been doing a million other things currently.

But I wasn't. I was here, in Morfin Clinic, with my head resting on top of my twiggy little arms while the sun outside shone on as brightly as ever. Since the day that we'd saved the world, he hadn't said a word to me. As far as I knew, he hadn't said a word to anyone else in the whole of Radiata.

At first, I had been so aggravated—just like I always was. I beat on his door for half an hour straight, but either he wasn't home, or he just hadn't felt like opening up. I'd even gone so far as to hunt down the other two that had been with us. Felix had been easy enough to find, but I cringed at remembering how I'd had to spend hours, crouched and waiting in the sewer before I caught sight of that Lily girl.

And neither of them had heard anything from him either.

After that, I'd slowly stopped trying to get in contact with him. He obviously didn't want to talk to anyone. I hardly even understood why I was so upset by the fact that it had been days since he'd been out and about in the city.

This was Jack Russell I was talking about, after all! He was nuttier than a fruitcake and more aggravating than fingernails on a chalkboard. Why should I care about the same boy that had succeeded in rubbing my nerves raw from the very first instant I'd met him? He had made smart, insolent little comments to me on more than one occasion.

I inhaled deeply, my whole body seeming to shake as I did so. It had always been my younger brother who was the frail, fragile one of the family. But right now, I'd never felt more breakable in my life.

I reminded myself solemnly that there was more to Jack. It was he who had actually caused such a dramatic change in that brother of mine, his farfetched stories giving Nalshay something that he hadn't had in the longest time: hope.

I had offered my assistance to him as thanks, though I'd never really expected him to actually take my offer seriously. But it turned out that he had, and to my surprise, I suddenly became an official member of his little team.

I let my eyelids droop over my coffee-colored eyes once again as the memories seemed to bubble up to the top of my mind one by one. No matter how many others had joined Jack on his quest, it seemed like it was always just the two of us. I had yelled at Jack to get up in battle while he complained about worms in his shoes…we'd enjoyed meals at the Begin Eatery, laughing and talking with all of his buddies from Vancoor…

"Elena?" a small, hesitant voice began.

My eyes snapped open this time, and I turned to gaze blankly at Nalshay. He was sitting up in bed, clutching a pen tightly in his tiny hand while a journal lay sprawled out across his lap.

I hadn't ever told Jack, but my brother had loved his stories more than the hotheaded warrior would ever know. He'd enjoyed them to the point where he had decided to begin writing them down, allowing for something to read in his spare time. Poor, fragile little Nalshay, he'd always had too much spare time in his life, being trapped on his bed the whole day.

"What is it?" My own voice sounded rough even to me, hoarse as though out of use for the longest time. Sunlight streamed through the windows, but it seemed so wrong. It was twisted and flat, somehow, like champagne with all the bubbles gone.

My brother stared back at me, strands of his silvery hair framing themselves around his creamy, pale little face. Large, doe-like eyes locked with mine while he set the pen and journal down carefully. The silence in the clinic was smothering as I waited for him to finish asking whatever it was that he wanted.

"…What's going to happen to Jack?"

I didn't have an answer. Staring at my younger sibling, I wondered if he knew something I didn't. The way he held his tiny chin up defiantly, his hands clenching so tightly, it occurred to me that perhaps he was no longer quite as frail as he had been in the past. My eyes burned, and I felt a surprising little stab of jealousy as I briefly questioned whether Nalshay possibly could have known Jack even better than I had.

I shook the feeling away, returning my attention to the statement that he'd just uttered instead. The way he was looking at me intently was unnerving. He had to know something more.

And suddenly, I knew too. I knew that Nalshay knew perfectly well how the little wheels worked in Jack's mind, and that he already was aware of what Jack was going to do now that humanity was saved. Now that his precious Ridley was dead, and it would seem that no one needed him any longer.

My heart began to beat furiously, and Morfin Clinic no longer seemed as terribly silent as I swore I could hear the thing pounding inside of me. No longer even thinking clearly, I stood up and hastened towards the stairs. The sound of cloth ripping made its way to my ears as I leapt the steps two at a time, and I vaguely noted somewhere in the back of my mind that I must have torn the dress that I had sewn myself so many years ago.

I probably shouldn't have left Nalshay. I was already slacking off as it was, leaving Adina to take care of all of Anastasia's needs at Olacion. Under my twin's worried gaze, I had agreed to watch our little brother—and here I was, running off, leaving Nalshay unattended while I scurried off without any spoken explanation as to where I was going.

But the only thought that made itself clear in my mind was that I couldn't waste any time. This simply couldn't wait.

I ran all the way to the Yellow Town of Sun and Glory, no longer even paying attention to my own panting. The crowd around me felt suffocating. Smiling, laughing children ran past me, and women bickered together as they walked to go run their petty errands. The guards of the city stared at me curiously, but I ignored them. The only one that I had my eyes open for was nowhere in sight.

A deep shudder shook me in my entirety, and a wave of despair almost hit me full on. I was at such a loss of things to do…and then, suddenly I saw him. He was weaving through the swarm of people effortlessly; face set with a rare look of focus and determination.

Over his shoulders, a simple sack was slung, no doubt containing what few belongings he actually owned. The only other thing he appeared to be taking with him besides necessities was a sword. I had been right. He was leaving. And no one else was even paying a second thought to the fact that this boy…no…this man that had saved them all was suddenly leaving them…and leaving me.

He wound his way around the corner, and I was snapped out of my reverie, stumbling as I struggled to run after him. He didn't notice me, apparently, or simply didn't care, for his pace never slowed even as he approached Lupus gate while I staggered after him.

The brown-haired warrior walked straight through the gate without a moment's hesitation, but the looming structure truly caused me to come to a halt in my chase. I stared up at the arches of the gate with wide eyes for a moment before my gaze instantly returned itself to the retreating back of Jack Russell.

Where was he going? I should turn back around right this instant. His choices were none of my business anymore. Adina needed me. Nalshay needed me.

But…I needed Jack.

He was walking fast now, growing smaller as he walked towards the horizon. Soon, he would be out of my vision for good. In that moment, I knew my mind was made up. I made a silent vow that I would write my siblings as soon as opportunity allowed. Or perhaps I'd be lucky, and wherever Jack planned on going wouldn't be too terribly far off, and I could come visit them.

Regardless, the fact of the matter was that whether or not he wanted me around, Jack Russell was stuck with me, as I had been stuck with him a thousand times before. Overlooking the sweaty, matted clumps of silvery hair that had fallen out of their orderly braid-loops and into my face, I ran through the gate.

---

"Jack! Jack Russell!" I shouted, hardly noticing the transition my feet made from the stone bridge to the dirt pathway as I sprinted after the brown-haired figure that had their back turned to me.

The sound of my screeching voice ended up being enough to make him stop. He paused before slowly turning around, looking startled. What a sight I must be, looking tired and out of breath and running right towards him.

His eyes narrowed in a state of blatant confusion, but thankfully, he didn't turn away from me again. I advanced towards him as though my life depended on it—which, as far as I was concerned, it did now.

Finally, I made it to him. I hunched over, breathing hard while relief at simply having caught up to him swept through my body. He continued to stare at me silently, failing to say anything even as I stood back up slowly.

He'd gotten taller. I hadn't ever really noticed, but he must have been growing the entire time that I'd known him, for he loomed a couple of inches above me now. He certainly hadn't done that when I'd first met him.

"Jack, where are you going?" I finally managed to get out, a hint of my old ridiculing tone seeping through in my question.

"Elena?" he asked blankly, as though he still couldn't quite believe that the sweaty, scruffy-looking girl in front of him was me. He shook his head after a moment or so, frowning instead.

"I asked you a question, dipstick," I reminded lightly. It was hard not to sound impatient, but I managed somehow or other.

He gawked at me wordlessly for another instant or two, no doubt using the time to consider an answer to my demanding inquiry. I only waited as patiently as I could, silently taking in just how different he seemed from the naïve, excited, determined boy that I remembered.

He was taller, as I'd pointed out, but his face somehow seemed a little older, a little wiser. As a lone cloud passed over the sun for a few minutes, he looked almost like an older man in that lighting—like someone who'd endured far too much in their lifetime. But then the moment passed and he was back to being plain old Jack again.

The most noticeable thing of all, though, was that he wasn't smiling. Not only was his mouth not twitching upward, but his eyes weren't smiling. That, perhaps, was what made it worst of all.

"Look, Elena," he finally began, his voice rougher than I recalled, with a strained sort of quality to it, like he was trying not to snap at me. "I don't know where I'm going…" he trailed off in his sentence, probably thinking over everything that had happened in just the past week or two. Without warning, he continued again.

"But don't follow me, all right?"

His last sentence was stated with such force, it caught me off guard, and all I could do was stare at this harsh man that wasn't my Jack. I shook my cranium so my loose braids swayed with me. He wanted to get rid of me like that? Obviously, he didn't remember who he was dealing with.

"Do you think you're the only one who was there? You think I don't know what's going on with you?" I sneered, my small, pale little nose held up in the air haughtily. "Newsflash, bucko: I was there too."

I winced momentarily, recalling that fight—the fight at the end of the world. The silver dragon—Aphelion, had he called himself?—had been so powerful. I had done my best to assist Jack in the battle, calling upon the gods for help in my spells. Lily and Felix had done their fair share to help as well, the bandit girl hardly resting as she slashed at the dragon while the magician from Vareth Institute determinedly sent his magic little ice crystals at Aphelion.

Jack had fought the hardest out of all of us, perhaps, his rage driving him to use his sword mercilessly against the silver dragon. But even the warrior's sheer strength and determination couldn't have compared to the dragon's power alone.

We had defeated Aphelion together. Jack Russell could never be the loner that he was trying to be right now.

He blinked once or twice, not having expected me to respond after he had made it so clear that he didn't want me around.

I wasn't done, though. I planned on making every thought that had run through my head in these past few days crystal clear. All the hurt and pain of having him suddenly cut himself off was spewing forth, and I didn't want to stop myself.

"I know you're hurt! You miss her—why wouldn't you be hurt? He murdered her right in front of you." Images of the blonde girl made their presence known in my mind as a million different mixed emotions accompanied them. They were images of Ridley Silverlake, and how she smiled at Jack, and laughed at all his stupid comments while simultaneously rolling her eyes. There were images of her batting her perfect, large eyes that were the color of dew-covered grass while a frown graced her perfect little face as Jack talked with her like they'd be together forever.

One image in particular made me clench my fists with angered recognition. Oh, I could perfectly recall that day…the day that she had abandoned Jack so willingly at Fort Helencia, following the fairy creatures and the traitorous Gawain Rothschild instead.

"Ridley! Ridley, come back! Don't leave, Ridley!"

Those were the desperate wails that a beaten and bruised Jack had yelled after her, his childlike face so full of anguish. He had missed her so much. He had been so convinced that she could do no wrong, and was willing to forgive her for everything, if she would only simply come back home.

But of course she didn't come back. She hadn't wanted to come back, and had no plans to do so, not even for Jack. No emotion showed on her lovely face, not so much as a hint of worry now that she was assured that Jack wasn't going to be killed by Gawain.

She never even thought twice about how her actions might have affected his life in a different way at the time.

After General Dynas had run off to fetch a medic to both care for Jack and bring him home, the boy had lain on the ground in agony and pain, sprawled out like a corpse. Lily and Felix had kept their distance, simply standing off to the side as they waited for Dynas to return.

Sniffling noises had come from Jack's direction every so often. It was so undeniably pathetic—but it made my heart wrench out of my chest cavity in sympathy.

"Jack, get up. Don't cry. It's time to go home, Jack."

And who do you think had said those reassuring words to the semiconscious boy? No, of course it wasn't Ridley. It had been me.

But already the anger I felt for the blonde girl for having deserted Jack so heartlessly was subsiding, as I remembered the much more recent memory of her and Jack. It was the event that had taken place just before the battle with the silver dragon—the event that had filled Jack with so much rage throughout the fight.

That Ridley girl had dropped to the ground after a brief flash of light. No scars or bruises or any other physical damage was visible, but it was evident that she was in pain. That pain was fading quickly, though—as was the life in her.

Jack had run to her, and lifted her head up, holding her close to him. He'd called out her name as she said her regretful little thanks at having been able to hear him one last time. And then she was gone. Her body was still there, but she wasn't. Jack hadn't wanted to believe it in the first few moments.

I remembered with such clarity of how he'd yelled her name. I had watched expressionlessly while he shook her in a determined fashion, still spewing her name forth like it was a chant to raise her from the dead, while she showed no more response than a rag doll would.

I blinked, returning my attention to the present, and to the perplexed Jack standing right in front of me.

"I know you miss her," I repeated numbly, staring at him as though my eyeballs were glued to him. "But you can't leave—not without me!"

He failed to say anything else, so I continued, shaking like a leaf now.

"I know she meant the world to you…more than anyone else in the whole world ever could," I told him gently, though my voice choked somewhat as I added that last little bit. "But if you leave now, I'll…I'll miss you."

My voice broke on the very last word, and it wasn't until he grasped my shoulders firmly that I realized I'd only been shaking because I was crying. He looked more like himself, I realized, when he stared at me in such a confused manner. Our brown eyes locked with one another, and it was he who looked away first.

"What about Adina? And Nalshay?" he asked me, his voice ten times softer than when he'd spoken earlier.

I hurriedly lifted my hands to my face, swatting at the tears as though they were gnats or something of the sort, embarrassed to be in such a state in front of him. I already looked like a mess, and now I was adding puffy eyes and a red nose to go with my appearance.

"They'll understand," I told him confidently, though I honestly was partially trying to assure myself of that, too.

He continued to gaze at me impassively, and I worried for a moment that he'd simply turn right around and walk away from me anyways. But of course, Jack had never been predictable, and I was surprised when he ended up smiling at me.

It was a small smile, one that looked like it might disappear if he turned his head the slightest bit. But it was a smile, regardless, and it caused my own face to brighten.

"You sure you'll be able to keep up, if you follow me? I mean, being a girl and everything…"

"Jack!"

"Heh. Just kidding."

All worries forgotten for only an instant, I scowled. But that quickly turned into a grin as I realized with profound relief that he was joking around, just as the old Jack would have. Before I could quite comprehend what I was doing, I threw my arms around his neck, resting my head on his shoulder as I clung to him.

"Whoa! What are you doing?!" he yelped, nearly staggering back but managing to remain upright at the last minute. My sudden action had apparently shocked him every bit as much as it had me. But he didn't shove me away, so I didn't peel myself off.

It was simply magnificent, the two of us standing there in the grass, just embracing. For a few long moments, there was no noise other than the sounds of our breathing, and the wind as it passed through the grass and trees.

At last, Jack gently broke my grip, taking a step back or so before his own hands made their way behind his head, a trademark lazy symbol of his. He started walking again, so I took it as a sign to follow.

"So…" he began, and I could hear curiosity in his tone. I only waited for him to continue with whatever it was that he planned on asking. "You do know if you follow me, you're not going to be around your precious psycho Lady What's-her-face, right?"

At recalling Lady Anastasia, I couldn't help but allow a laugh to escape through my parted lips, shaking my head at Jack's obliviousness at just what had occurred between me and my employer.

"What?" the brown-haired combatant frowned. "What's so funny?"

My laughter gradually settled back down into a series of amused chuckles as I crossed my arms while we sauntered along.

"I'm not so sure she wants me around anyways," I responded. As I saw his befuddled expression, I sustained my explanation.

"I spent so much time fighting for your squad, mister Theater Vancoor General," I snorted, "that she kind of tried to chew me out for it when I returned back to Olacion, right after we saved all of humanity. I sort of called her a few names…and told her she resembled an obese fish on steroids, and I haven't truthfully seen her ever since."

Jack stared at me in absolute awe for a full minute straight, before he flat-out went into a fit of laughter.

"Laney!" he managed between sporadic laughs, "That's great!"

I shrugged rather sheepishly. I still felt somewhat guilty for having insulted someone I idolized so much, but perhaps Adina was doing her best to smooth things out between the two of us.

"Say, Elena," Jack drawled as he finally began to calm down from his giggle-fit. "Your dress is all torn up at the bottom."

My face dawned with recognition as I recalled flinging myself down the stairs, grimacing at thinking of how I'd practically ruined the dress that I had worked so very hard on.

"I guess it is," I nodded my agreement solemnly.

"We'll have to pick you up some armor if we pass by a merchant. We've got an awfully big adventure ahead of us."

A/N: Lame, huh? Yeah...I know. But I did try my best at it.

Reviews and such are appreciated. You know, I just might end up doing a lot of different little oneshots for pairings in Radiata Stories...xDD I'm quite fond of GilxRidley next to JackxRidley, actually. So keep your eyes wide open.

I hope you all enjoyed it! Reviews are appreciated!