Koinu: Ohmygawd, I'm so sorry everyone! I can't believe I slacked off so much and didn't get this written! It's been what, half a year since Ive updated anything? I'm so, so sorry! As a few of you might know though, I like to write my fics completely before posting them, unlike some authors that will write a chapter then automatically post it. I don't like feeling pressured... But I thought I owed it to all my readers to actually post what I have so far. The third installment of The Amari Chronicles is going to be much longer than its two predecessors, so be ready for chapter numbers in the double digits, okay? Thanks for sticking with me everyone!

The Amari Chronicles

Lies and Laments

Prologue

"Liz-chan…?"

Something was wrong. The girl turned in a circle, yet saw nothing, no signs of life, no decorations on the barren walls. Not a thing. She could hear rain outside, pouring down on the roof, highlighted by thunder that followed invisible lightning. The hallway stretched on, every door open to show an empty room; barren, stark, inhospitable.

Had there been a voice, calling out in the emptiness? The teen spun in another tight circle, mako colored eyes wide, the slitted pupils dilated to adjust to the gloom. She gulped, then gathered her breath. She shouted, calling her brother's names, but it sounded as if no words left her mouth.

The thunder crashed again and for a moment Liz thought the ceiling was leaking. Why were her cheeks wet?

"No…" The silence was broken by her dispirited cry. She touched her cheek, feeling the liquid. As Liz pulled her hand away, her fingertips were stained with both the salty water of tears, and the coppery liquor of blood.

"Liz?"

The girl shrieked, recoiling away from the sight of her own crimson claret. The sanguine fluid spattered the walls, contrasting with sharp clarity against the naked walls. She cried out again, clutching at her stomach as if in pain. For a moment the remnant girl imagined that something twitched beneath her hand, but then the feeling passed, drowned by her fearful despair.

"Where did they all go…?" Another stab of pain, and the ground rushed up, smacking against her knees, causing Liz's visage to grimace for a half-second. "Where did everyone go…?"

Then suddenly she was awake, her cheeks now stained solely with her tears and not her blood, and it was merely a calm night outside, the stars winking on the other side of her window. Loz was hovering over his youngest sibling, a worried frown on his face. His large hand was still positioned on her shoulder, though lightly. He had shaken her to bring Liz from the world of dreams, but she had looked so frail as she cried in her sleep; he had been afraid to break her.

"You were calling for us again…" Loz murmured quietly as he sat down on the edge of the bed. With his thumb he carefully, ever so carefully because his sister still seemed so fragile, wiped away the tears from her eyes. He sighed as he watched his sister calm herself down, choking down large gasps of air because of her need to fill her lungs.

This was the third time this month he had found her like this, sobbing in her sleep, crying out the names of her brothers. She was never loud enough to wake anyone, he was sure of that. The only reason he had been able to hear his sisters weeping was because he got up early every other day anyway to train on his own before it got too hot outside.

"I'm sorry…" Her voice was barely above a whisper as she spoke, her eyes closed in concentration as she attempted to vanquish the terrors of her dream. "I just had another bad dream, that's all…"

Loz's brow furrowed. "Another?" He questioned tenderly, not wanting to upset his sister further. Ever since she had come back to them, since she had finally woken from her coma-like sleep, she had been different. Her smiles seemed a little too forced, her laughter just a bit too easy to come by. She tried to make everyone happy, all the time. He was beginning to worry.

Liz's lip twitched in a half-hearted smile, the same one she seemed to give all the time now when she was tired. "I'm fine, Nii-san, I promise." She yawned and then turned onto her side, her back to him, arms curled around her pillow. "I'll go back to sleep now, okay?"

Loz chuckled quietly and ruffled his sister's hair. "Okay." He stated as he stood once again. "No more bad dreams, okay?" he waited for Liz's tired nod of confirmation before smiling and turning to leave. "Sleep well, Imoto-chan."

As the door closed Liz buried her face in her pillow, hiding the tears of despair that escaped her eyes once again.

Koinu: Have I ever mentioned how much I love Loz? Heh. Yeah, I really like him in this. Oh, and my writing style has changed a bit, but thats cause I'm getting better, right?

Just so everyone knows, my parents don't approve of my writing fanfiction. Why? you might ask. Well, because I've entered a few writing competitions for my poetry and my short stories, and I win every time, so yeah... they say I should spend my time writing a novel instead of this stuff. Pfft! Yeah right! How could I leave you guys hanging like that?!

As always, please review! It is greatly appreciated!