THEME SONG: 'Mou Nakanaide' (Don't Cry Anymore) – Ranma ½
"Mmm Brock chuck us another Popsicle."
"Ash, that hat is gonna leave a weird tan-mark."
"Where is Trish anyway?"
"We're all out of strawberry, Sas."
"I think she's harassing the desk-clerk at reception again."
"Gary stop stroking my stomach, your hands are sticky."
"Pineapple then – cheers."
"Is Rin asleep?"
"Yeah Gary, keep your hands to yourself, I'm trying to eat here."
"We'd better wake her up, she burns really easily."
"Poke her."
"Shut it, Red."
"Oh, lemme poke her!"
"I have a better idea…"
Erin awoke with a gargled screech, and swam to the surface of the water, where she glared venomously at her hysterical companions and shivered violently.
"I hate you Todd," she literally spat as she clambered up the steps and purposely shook herself vigorously over her sunbathing friends, who protested meekly at the shower of droplets.
Michelle and Misty watched, detached from the others from where they sat on the wall bordering the poolside with the badminton courts. The two girls were rather alike, and so didn't always get on superbly, but at this time they were silent and amiable, Michelle still secretly shaken from her nightmare the previous night.
"When did we get used to life here?" she mused half to herself; Misty looked at her in confusion. Michelle gestured over to the sunbeds, where two couples were clearly distinguishable, and Sarah and Erin were entertaining Brock, Ash and Jesse by both trying to condense the plot of Harry Potter into four sentences. In the end they gave up, and just squealed at each other. "How long has it been?" Michelle continued. Misty hesitated for a second.
"Since Erin… must be, over two months."
"Hmmm but how do we know?" Michelle wondered, kicking the heels of her (new) shoes against the brittle, white-washed wall, knocking off small clouds of plaster dust. "It could be that every day here is equal to a year back home, or vice-versa. I hate not knowing." Michelle glanced at Misty, who was respectfully silent. She seemed to find something amusing all of a sudden, and Misty couldn't help but glare at her.
"What now?"
"You're a cartoon character," Michelle sighed, rubbing her palm up and down her face. "I write you in stories that I post up on some random site." Saying that seemed to remind Michelle of something, and she smirked candidly at Misty, who sweatdropped.
"W-what do you write me doing, anyway?" Misty asked, the idea clearly beyond her grasp. Michelle smirked again.
"Usually making out with Ash." Misty opened and closed her mouth in a perfect goldfish imitation, but Michelle continued. "That's Sakashipping," she explained, beginning to count off on her fingers. "Then you've got Egoshiping, Indigoshipping, Gymshipping, Orangeshipping… that's you with Gary, Richie, Brock and Tracey respectively." Michelle leaned in closer to the horrified red-head. "Don't even get me *started* on the female-female shippings." Misty shuddered.
"So you really, see us lot on television?" she asked quietly; Michelle scratched her neck thoughtfully.
"Yeah… but… it's the same but different. On the show you don't seem like such real people." Michelle smiled ruefully. "Then again, this may be because now I have to live with you." Michelle's pendant flashed neon, angrily, making Todd yelp in surprise from the other side of the pool, as something inside him twanged in harmony.
"Look," Michelle said, suddenly softening. "Don't let our stupid views influence who ya fancy or anything. I'm not a Gymshipper, but if you like em tall and spiky," Michelle shrugged, "then go for it. Just…" she hesitated as she dropped from the wall, and turned back to wink at the bemused redhead, "don't get with Tracey, 'kay?" Misty looked over to where Tracey was following Karlie dutifully around - before she fwapped him on the head and told him that she needed to pee - and giggled.
Sarah gripped the volleyball tightly as a warm feeling swept through her head. She let it drop, and it bounced on her knees and came to a gentle stop. Sarah grunted to herself; the feeling hadn't been painful or unpleasant in any way, but her body had suddenly gone to a high state of alert. She peered down at her violet gem, which lay dull and motionless on her chest. Tracey materialised by her side instantly.
"What? What?" he babbled in a panic, "I didn't feel anything. Sarah? Are you okay Sas?"
"I'm fine," she reassured the small group that had gathered around her, Michelle looking pale and ill. Sarah looked at her sadly, not knowing, but understanding how she must be feeling; at least Mitch had told the rest of them about her unfortunate dream. "It must be the heat," she feigned. "I'll go back upstairs and take a nap."
"Tracey, go with her!" Karlie commanded, as Sarah neared the veranda doors leading back into the Takai-Ryokan. Sarah turned around, and smiled brightly.
"Nah, I'm fine; you lot stay here with Michelle. And have some fun goddammit!" she teased, "it's our last full day of rest!"
Sarah smiled to herself as she fiddled with her brown beaded necklace and jogged down the hallway towards the lift. Before she was halfway down the long, carpeted corridor, the doors began to draw closed into each other, and she began to walk more leisurely, knowing she wouldn't make it, and not being in a particular rush.
She gasped as the warm feeling rushed through her veins again, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of violet between the closing lift doors. Quickly, she looked down at her pendant, which she relied heavily on, but it was unactive. However, Sarah felt a crushing need to get to that lift.
She dashed towards the silver doors, and made it just in time to smack her palms against them in exasperation as they locked and the lift began to climb upwards. Despondently, and feeling on-edge still, she waited a few seconds for the next elevator to arrive, and arrive it did, with an announcing ping and a swoosh as the doors pulled open.
Sarah ignored the electronic voice as it struggled to identify her unidentifiable self, and leant back against the cool metal bar that ran its way around the large, empty box that was the lift. She lift her eyes broodily, and her breath caught in her throat as she realised she wasn't alone in the lift as she had thought.
She stared at her 'reflection' in the mirrored sides of the lift – instead of her normal appearance, she appeared almost purple-tinted. Her hair was far longer, and was a lilac-hue. Her reflection lifted its arm, and Sarah realised with a jolt that it may have exactly the same face, but the person in the mirror was not a reflection of her.
The woman stared, with no expression readable in her creamy-brown eyes. Sarah felt her breath come in heavy gasps, but she wasn't afraid. The woman continued to stare, and raised her arm up to pat her own chest. Sarah glanced down at the corresponding area on her own body, and saw nothing but her pendant. The woman raised her hand, and gestured to where she had a tear-shaped purple gem embedded deep into the skin where her neck ended.
As Sarah watched, transfixed, the woman grabbed hold of her gem, seemingly trying to pull it out of her body. Shiny blood dripped freely from the area around the gem, and Sarah felt a stabbing pain in her own chest, prompting her pendant to spasm, and glow so brightly that the whole elevator was filled with a violet light.
The elevator announced its arrival at the appropriate floor, and Sarah opened her eyes, before gasping and literally leaping out of the elevator. She watched shakily as the doors closed and it continued to ascend; she felt chilled.
Shaking it off, she keyed in the access code to open Tobokeru, and wandered over to her bag. She pulled a random teeshirt out of its wrappings, as the girls had bought many items of clothes on their recent shopping excursion. Humming nervously to herself, she unfolded it and turned towards her bed.
Her purple notebook and pen were lying on her neatly-made (by Riny) bedsheets, writing on the page apparent, and the pen lying on the book with the lid off. A large ink-blot had leaked out of the nib, and Sarah recoiled in horror as she realised the ink was still very much wet.
"No…" she murmured to herself out loud, looking warily around. There was just no way. They were the only ones to know the access code, as they had chosen it themselves, and they had all been down by the pool. Or had someone come up before her to play a joke? Sarah peered out of the window as she pulled the teeshirt over her head.
Reluctantly, she returned to her notebook, clipping the lid back on her fountain pen. Gingerly, she picked up the pad, and began to read the eerily familiar handwriting.
From a cloudless sky, shall fall clear rain
In a singular struggle to do what is right And the sacrifice of a misguided light
Ainia and Mabui shall walk with me again
The storm in her soul is not calm
Sarah furrowed up her brow; more of that stupid verse. But who would walk with who? These people would walk with her? Sarah shivered. She was walking nowhere with no strange people. But what about that last line? That didn't seem to fit, almost as if it had been written as an afterthought. Sarah scanned the verse again, before flinging the book to the bed in shock as she finally recognised her own, distinguishable handwriting.
~*~
"This game is getting infuriating," Velve sighed to her companion. "Why not just kill them off right now? Electrocute the pool," she smirked, vindictively. "That would do it."
"Nay," Author smiled fondly, completing the curve of an 'n'. "These things have to be handled delicately. It has to come from the characters themselves – their humanities, their foibles, their strengths, their feelings for each other. Otherwise, the paper will reject it."
Author jumped in surprise as Velve suddenly screamed, and clutched her head like it was splitting, crimson and chocolate curls spilling over her pale fingers. She stared with wide red eyes at her hands, as if she were seeing the most horrendous thing imaginable to her. She doubled forwards as if she were going to wretch, and let loose one single sob. She lurched back upwards, and stared angrily at Author with deep brown eyes, and violently tore the mask from her jaw.
(Why kill them at all?) she spat, angrily. Author sighed, and turned back to the paper.
"Because, dearest Jacqueline," she deduced correctly. "It is simply what you must do." Author traced the name on her paper, and stared up at Jacqui, waiting to see her reaction. From inside Velve's outer-form, Jacqui read the name, and as she pinched her eyes shut in exasperation against the tell-tale tears, she felt the control slip away, and Velve snapped open her crimson eyes once more.
"Honestly, I hate it when you do that Jacqueline," she hissed at herself, pulling her mask back across the bottom half of her face. Author stared candidly at Velve, knowing that Jacqueline was in there somewhere.
"What? Did I not spell it right?" she asked, in mock innocence, before turning around to double-underline the name Michelle O'Broin.
~*~
"I did Swords Dance!"
"Cuh, you did not!"
"I ruddy well did!"
Rachel lolled over on her back, ignoring Riny and Karlie argue over a game of the Pokémon TCG. The evening was clear and fine, and the gang had decided to spend as long as they could outside by the pool, even if they weren't in the water anymore. The stars were bright and beautiful, as they always were in this world, and as she fingered the crystal clear gem suspended around her neck, Rachel felt a familiar pang for the boyfriend that might have been. Jesse, well-versed in hearts and heartbreak, smiled at the petite blonde, and hugged her knees into her chest as she wondered what to say.
"So… Blonde Twerp," she smiled. "How are you holding up?" Rachel sighed lightly, pushing her hair out of her vision.
"I'm not bad," she answered truthfully. "I guess, I'm still under the weather… but at least I'm over the storm."
"I feel strange," frowned Sarah, lightly touching her forehead with her index finger. She felt safe at least, huddled in a group with Tracey, Brock, Mia and Trish, who had just returned from a date with a Drake-Impostor.
"I guess I should feel flattered that he pretended to be Drake so that I would go out with him-" she had been saying, before they all looked up worriedly and warily at Sarah, who gave them a weak smile. She startled as she felt something heavy and wet drop onto her noise, and peered up at the sky. Large raindrops were visible, pouring from the heavens as if someone had just wrung out a cloud.
"Oh, it's raining," she murmured to herself, gazing up at the inky infinity above their heads, feeling yet more drops roll down her skin. The others glanced at each other warily, and up at the seemingly clear nights sky. Sarah smiled slightly, and looked at Tracey's face. She blinked in shock and felt nausea in her stomach as she saw the drops dripping unnoticed down his cheeks, and the cheeks of the others, were thick, and red.
"Sas, it's not raining sweetie," Mia soothed, "you just need some rest after today-" Sarah exhaled as the bloody streaks on Mia's tanned cheeks seemed to fade away. They stared at her expectantly.
"It was raining blood... it looked like... blood," Sarah explained simply, leaning exhausted on Brock. Mia winced.
"That… can't be good."
"At the end to find the page is torn
If all have will to love, yet yield
They'll give their auras, strength revealed
And your fallen ones shall come reborn
From a cloudless sky, shall fall clear rain
In a singular struggle to do what is right
And the sacrifice of a misguided light
Ainia and Mabui shall walk with me again."
Rachel recited the verse perfectly, and stared quizzically at the boy on the deck-chair opposite her. Ash shrugged deeply, making Misty, who was lying asleep against him, frown in her sleep.
~*~
Jacqui huddled into herself, feeling the cold hardness of the wall press into her shuddering back.
She cried. She cried as she tried to reach out to them.
She cried and her crimson teardrops fell heavily onto their world.
