Tamashii-chan: Yay! Chapter 3. Now, this wasn't published on my quizilla account yet, but it will soon. You could say this is a sneak preview for everyone here at Fanfic.

Kitty-chan: Well, I'm not surprised it's not on your quizilla account yet. You haven't been on it for a few weeks now!

Dawn-chan: Will you guys give it a rest already! Poor Tama-chan has no time for herself anymore.

Leon-kun: I still say she should quit everything. Her band teacher wasn't even in school and she had to go to rehearsal anyways last night. Now, that's ridiculous.

Amy-chan: HI! I just wanted to say something!

Leon-kun: -sweatdropps- AHEM, as I was saying-

Tamashii-chan: Enjoy the chapter!

Leon-kun: Why do I even bother showing up?

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Chapter 3:

The Worst News Ever for Ketara

Ketara led the way with Alviss beside her, Ginta, Snow, Jack, and Babbo behind them, and Nanashi and Dorothy in the back. Ketara looked over at Alviss with curiosity in her eyes and stared at the strange markings on his arms. She decided to keep it to herself, since she didn't want to be too nosy. Right now, she was just thankful to be with a familiar face.

"Hey, Alviss," she asked, "What have you been doing in the past six years?"

He looked at Ketara with his gentle, blue eyes and replied, "Training to make myself stronger. Like you, I also want to defeat Phantom. I've kinda got a score to settle with him."

"Oh," Ketara mumbled and went back to walking. She looked back to Babbo with untrustworthy eyes and caught his eye. He stared back at you, and you quickly turned away, trying to hide your hate for him. No, she quickly realized; she was hiding her hate for Phantom and the way he used Babbo to kill millions of innocent eyes.

Suddenly, there was a rustle behind Ketara. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned her head to the right. Her eyes focused in the distant meadow, but there was nothing there.

"Something wrong, Ketara?" Alviss asked walking up to her.

"Did you hear that?" Ketara asked curiously. There was another soft whisper, but this time, it sounded deeper and some of the words were more distinct.

It said, "Come… sing for me."

Alviss's eyes narrowed, "Yeah, I heard it too."

"What's wrong Ketara?" Snow asked, followed by Ginta, Jack, and Babbo.

"Shhh," Ketara and Alviss whispered at once. All six of them listened to the strange whispers.

It spoke again, "Come forth… do your best work yet… come sing for me Dem-"

"What are you guys doing?" Dorothy grumbled, "We're-"

"SHHH," All six of them whispered. Dorothy and Nanashi strained their ears to listen to what was going on. A soft, soothing sound came from a distant forest in the horizon.

"Is that…" Jack questioned, "singing?"

"It sounds like it," Nanashi answered.

"It's kinda… pretty," Ginta said dreamily.

Ketara focused on the song playing in the distance. It sounded so familiar, like a song she used to hear when she was a child, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. As Ketara was focusing on the music, she noticed Alviss walking forward.

"Hey, where are you going?" she asked him.

Alviss didn't answer her. He kept moving forward and didn't even turn to look at her. Ketara's cheeks ran red, and she clenched her fists.

She continued, "Hey, I'm talking to you…" Ketara cut herself off as she stared into Alviss's eyes. His irises were a deep, blood colored red that bled into his pupils creating a blend of dark red and black.

Ketara recognized the condition right away. It was the doing of a ghost ÄRM, named Demon Siren. This ÄRM emitted an entrancing noise that lured young men unwillingly into a trance and made them do whatever the ÄRM holder wanted as long as the ÄRM kept singing. The same ÄRM was used by her first love, Tai.

"Wait... Tai?" she questioned.

Ketara thought to herself, Could Tai have survived against Phantom's attack? If he did, why didn't he find me? Maybe he's here right now for me!

"TAI!" Ketara cried out. She darted off in the direction of the noise, ignoring Snow and Dorothy's cries of frustration. This ARM was pretty rare, so she knew she had a good chance of finding Tai. She turned around the first tree in the forest and bumped into something on the other side.

It was hard and cold, as if metallic. Ketara opened her eyes to see a man operating the Demon Siren. He wore a silver mask and had a metal covered right arm. He looked down at her; his icy brown eyes explored you thoroughly. His right hand, which was not covered in metal, reached out and grabbed her right hand.

"Hey, let go!" Ketara cried out. She tried to pull her hand away, but the man would not release her. He raised his right arm and pulled Ketara off the ground. Ketara cried out in pain and tried to kick away from the man in front of her.

"You're Ketara Ihara, correct," the man growled. "Phantom's been expecting you."

"Me! Why me?" Ketara growled.

"You woe him something," the man replied. "You're loyalty."

"Loyalty? Loyalty! Why would I be loyal to him?" Ketara hissed. A light emitted from her side and she held pyro saber in her free hand. With one quick slash, she cut his torso on the right side, making him instantly drop her.

The man said through clenched teeth, "So, you wanna play rough, do ya? So be it!" He pulled out a bracelet ÄRM from his pocket and it transformed into a sword purely made of water.

That was one of Tai's ÄRMs too! Ketara thought to herself. Maybe this guy really is Tai, only under Phantom's control.

"Tai, it's me!" Ketara shouted, "Ketara, you're best friend!"

"Tai," the man questioned, "My name is Kyoichi Kayama from Marous (mare-us), but Tai does sound familiar. Was he from Arthen?"

"Yes, you know him?" Ketara asked hopefully

"Tai Korosaki, am I correct? Spiky blackish-blue hair? Light brown eyes? A scar across his left eye?"

"Yes, yes, yes, YES!" Ketara shouted joyfully.

"Yeah, I remember him. I just joined the Chess Pieces when we invaded that town to add a few members. I remember he helped you escape."

"Do you know where he is?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, thank god! Thank you so much!"

For a moment, there was some silence between the two. Ketara's smile turned into an impatient frown.

"So, you gonna tell me?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes."

"Positive?"

"Yes!"

"Absolutely positively su-"

"TELL ME ALREADY!"

"Phantom... he... he killed him."

Ketara felt her heart sink. Her eyes became cloudy with pain, and she fell to her hands and knees breathing heavily. Tears streaked her cheeks, and her hands dug into the soft soil beneath her.

"No," she choked out, "not Tai!"

Kyoichi sighed and rolled his eyes. He knelt beside her and said, "Stop crying. You look ridiculous." But, Ketara continued to sob miserably. Kyoichi's eyes changed into soft, sympathetic pools of brown. He put his hand on her shoulder and continued, "Well, at least he died nobly, and besides, you still have the memories of him."

Ketara's hands dug into the ground. Her face became red and her eyes narrowed. She reached over to Pyro Saber with her right hand and stood up.

"I'll kill you all!" she yelled through her clenched teeth. Kyoichi retracted Demon Siren back inside the ring and jumped backwards out of the way of Ketara's reckless swing of her Pyro Saber. Ketara continued to swing blindly at him, not even pausing to let him catch his footing. Finally Kyoichi disappeared into thin air, leaving Ketara panting alone in the meadow.

Ketara, through her blind anger, threw Pyro Saber a good thirty feet and pounded her fists on the ground.

"Stupid, stupid Tai!" Ketara yelled. She pounded her right fist on the ground two times and closed her eyes tight. Tears stained her cheeks and her face was read with frustration. Ketara looked over at Pyro Saber lying silently on the ground. She held out her right hand and watched the sword fly into her palm. Gripping the sword tightly in her hand, she raised it up to her neck.

If I can't be with Tai anymore, there's no reason for me to live. At least when I'm dead, I'll be with him, she thought to herself.

Ketara closed her eyes and touched the edge of her blade to the left side of her neck.

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Tamashii-chan: Ooooh, cliffhanger!!! I do this to my friend Becky-chan all the time. She hates me for it.

Leon-kun: I wonder why.

Tamashii-chan: Anyways, I might get the forth chapter out tonight, but don't count on it. It will probably be more like tomorrow… ish.

Kitty-chan: She means that it could be anywhere from today to Monday.

Tamashii-chan: Yeah, what she said. Starting this chapter, I'm gonna leave little previews for the next chapter. Here it is:

- - - Next time on: A Love for Two - - -

Ketara finds out that she has a guardian angel with her and Team MÄR. While watching the stars with Alviss, she realizes that there is a little more than a four-year friendship. Will Ketara develop feeling for our young hero, or will she remain faithful to Tai even though he's dead?