Are you actually interested enough to still be reading this? Haha, I think you gusy might find this chapter a bit... bland. It`s mostly a consideration chapter- she can`t say one or the other at the end when she hasn`t mulled it all over. Am I right, or am I rightÉ I`d like to have SOME reality involved in this fic. xD
But I have a lot of tests going on and stuff to do, although I found I couldn't not submit something. :D
More emotional stuff coming up in the next, not-so-boring chapter, though! ^W^

They merely looked into each other's eyes for a minute, standing there. Saya's mind was now a total mess, a disaster. She was now so stumped as to whether she would go or stay, she found she could actually no longer think about it without getting brainfreeze. Go, or stay? Leave, or come? Him, or them? It was, quite frankly- impossible. In fact, the thought she found death even a vaguely tempting option at all was nothing short of disturbing to her.

No living thing ever wants to die. But death involved Haji. That made it sound like sheer bliss. After all the lonely nights, the empty memories, the long, the long, angst-filled walks down empty streets, death sounded very inviting indeed. But then there were her nieces and Kai. That was what brought her back to the fact that death was not a good thing. They were one of the only reasons she wanted to live at all. She hardly even knew her nieces... It was almost as though she didn't know her own children. That hit her particularly hard, whenever she chose to think about it. Sometimes there was no choice involved.

As for Kai, shed only been physically living with him- her thoughts, worries, hopes, and even most of her fond memories were, for the most part, totally elsewhere. All over the place. Not all over the world like they'd hoped, but always somewhere else. It was simply painful to look at him, as she was reminded of their broken family. She had been living life as though she saw it through a sheet of glass, and at one point not much seemed very important anymore aside from family... that was, until Nathan surfaced. The bastard. Why put her nieces through all of the bloody battles? He knew it bothered Saya; she could sense it.

In a sick way, she was almost grateful for his plans to bring the chiropterean race back. It gave her a true purpose once again, a little more meaning to her life. A lot more meaning to her life. Her life hadn't been unpurposeful, bland, or even in any way negative because Kai and her precious nieces hadn't tried as hard as was humanly possible to make her smile again. And sometimes, she did: sometimes, she meant it. That was what she lived for. To smile. But life was so different because without certain aspects, certain people, and living became so much more...

unbearable.

They say it takes more courage to live than it does to die. They were right... well, when it came to her case at the very least. If she did choose to live, and she did defeat Nathan, what if the twins died in the process? What if there was no one left to finish her off when she wanted to leave that godforsaken place... what if there was nothing left for her but a planet that was so empty in her eyes? Death would be almost reassuring, comforting, knowing that would never happen. Death was safety from eternity.

But if she chose death, what if the twins failed against Nathan without her? He would doubtlessly destroy civilization, along with any forms of it that materialized afterwards. How could she exist with the death of an entire planet's population on her concious? At least if she lived and finally died again in that horrible war, she would have some comfort: she would have tried. But turning her back on the matter and walking away was something else entirely, something unforgivable. And these were her choices?

Impossible. She came back to reality to find herself tense, Haji still watching her closely. She reached out suddenly and made to place her hand on his cheek for the sake of staying away from a nervous breakdown; however, he gently intercepted her hand. The hands merely stayed locked together in midair, his fingers wrapped loosely around her wrist. Haji's expression was more wary than usual... something was wrong. He opened his mouth slightly to speak: however, he never got the chance.

The whole atmosphere began to shake as though with rage, setting Saya off balance and hurtling towards the ground in seconds. Haji swerved downwards to catch her, his eyes scanning the area for something. "What... what is that?" Saya said fearfully, her own eyes doing their fair share of searching for a monster she expected to come out of nowhere. Haji straightened up, and Saya stayed close as he spoke again. However, the sentence did not seem meant for her- not for anyone, in fact.

"I was warned of this." He muttered darkly, and Saya wished he would answer her question.

Little did she know, he hadn't answered because he hadn't encountered this unknown terror before either. He was always listening to her, the notion he would ever ignore her was ridiculous.

All he'd been told was: "Beware the beast of lies, for it takes many forms. But do not fear it: it cannot harm the girl, so long as you both remain calm. Pay no mind to what it says."

Limbo almost never happened to anyone... and certainly not in Haji's lifetime. As it was, he knew nothing further and was told no more. The rumbling intensified and Saya cringed against him. He put an arm around her protectively as a wind picked up suddenly, adding quite terrifyingly to the effect of the rumbling, and threatened to blow Saya off her feet yet again as Haji continued to steady her.

He knew he couldn't harm anything or anyone here, it simply wouldn't work. In return, nothing could hurt you. While it was a blessing, it was just as much a curse. You were stripped down to your bare soul and nothing more in this... place. While being a chiropterean had been a part of him, it hadn't intoxicated his spirit. Saya covered her ears against the high pitched whistling as the air around them turned crimson and continued whirling viciously. Haji realized with wider eyes the gale surrounded only them as the scarlet poisioned the thrashing winds, and finally crouched down in order to remain grounded. It all happened in ten seconds. They had only five more to go.

5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Now.

As soon as the crimson gale had begun, it stopped. They waited for 10 very long seconds, and nothing happened. Relieved to see this 'beast' was nothing more than a gale of wind, Haji was about to ask Saya if she was alright. However, he stopped to listen instead. The subtle clicking of a man's shoes was the only sound, growing closer.

Saya was the first to look up, and her blood steamed in her veins.

Amshel. Amshel Goldschmidt came closer with every step, a smug smile on his face and his hands behind his back. He stopped, a few feet from the pair who were still crouching against winds that no longer existed. "And so we meet again, Saya." He said, offering a hand to help her up. By this time, Haji was already on his feet and glaring at the man in the wine red suit, his hand still on Saya. No one had told him there would be others here, affecting her... and this damned man, of all the possible bottomcrawlers there were in the whole of the universe. That creature should never have existed.

Saya's eyes were full of hatred as she met the man's eyes. Not the cold hatred she had glared daggers with at Haji, thinking he was someone else- no, this contempt was burning like the fires in of hell in the pair of deep brown orbs. Flaming eyes that longed for blood to splay the cold white floor, to see heads roll... One in particular.

The girl's hatred was so strong she didn't even notice the onyx eyes like shining stones, the only sign the beast was not who it appeared to be. Oh yes, she was an angry one... the angry ones were so easy to manipulate. It had searched Saya's memories undetectably from the moment she had faded in on that floor, waiting to find the right one in the depths of her memories. To find inside them one person she hated so much she would be led away from all rational thought. In fact, it had found a few remembered people that would provoke emotions that, if she reacted, would be extremely diverting... it would save those for later.

If it could keep her here long enough, that gaurdian boy of hers would fade away over time, and he could have her for the rest of eternity. Only 18 more minutes. He just had to keep her from making a decision... too bad there was nothing they could do to send the beast itself away.

Inwardly, it smiled.


And now you see what I meant by bland. xD
In case I'm too confusing (probably), I'll clarify a few things. Haji knew about the 'beast' but not very much at all except for the fact it exists. Its yet another reason he's worried about time. xD
Amshel is not Amshel, he's this 'beast' I decided to throw in for a good little bit of interestingness/evil/doubt. The doubt will be explained later :D It searched Saya's memories for somone she hated so much she would actually have deciding shoved from her mind and waste her time trying to kill the person he portrays. Yes, it's got a pair of sexy onyx eyes :3
I honestly had a bit of trouble writing the beast in, as it's not a boy or a girl (hence the apostraphe. I so cannot spell that word .).
I almost put 'he' roughly five or six times because it's (almost put 'he' there just now xD) posing as Amshel. Sweet Jesus, I hate that guy. Luckily for the beast, Saya hates him too :D
Well guys, tell me what you think? Please? (' ' Hugs anyway!

Keep reading!