An AU one shot inspired by a song I heard. Dedicated to hotpink72.

---

Tranquility

The peaceful glade, deep in the woods, was indeed just that. Peaceful. With its slender, pale trees, soft green grass swaying in the breeze and the tiny crystal clear pool, it seemed to be the meaning tranquility.

But today something disturbed the peace.

Someone, in fact. A tall figure – much like the trees, in fact, slender and pale – burst from said trees, panting and puffing and generally disturbing the silence. But when the exhausted breaths slowed down, a sob forced itself out of the figure and it fell to it's knees in front of the pool, tears running down it's face.

Rachel did not often cry, and much less in front of others.

She collapsed onto all fours, looking at her reflection in the pool as if it could somehow comfort her. But the sight of her own face, red and blotchy from crying, just made her sob even harder. It seemed to mock her, the image twisting and writhing from the ripples her tears made as they touched the pure water.

Some part of her rational mind calmly told her that it was already gone and done, and no amount of tears would change that. But she rarely listened to that part of her anyway, so she continued to cry, and lament, and mourn.

Tobias was dead.

A last ditch effort, Jake had said. For the good of the Earth. And he'd been right. The war was won, and they had, quite literally, saved the world. But at the cost of a friend, a team mate…

She stayed in the little meadow for a long time, alternating between mourning her love, screaming out to anyone who'd listen every single detail of what was wrong with the world, and silently reflecting on every moment they had spent together, memorizing every detail of him; the way he looked, the feel of his hand in hers, how his eyes lit up upon seeing her – God, even she could even still remember his smell,that unique mix of trees andsomething indefinable… she remembered how she had once remarked on it, and he had laughed and told her that it was probably Andalite.

It hit her again, hard, that she'd never see him again, never hear that calm voice, never… never…

She held her head in her hands as she sobbed with a new intensity – God, it just hurt so much! Why did it have to be him that went? She would gladly have sacrificed herself for the cause.

Her hands fell limply to her sides as she considered the slightest possibility, the merest hint of a suggestion, that maybe, maybe, Tobias knew that. And he had volunteered so that she could continue to live, continue to tell the world about their struggle… tell the world about him. And by God, she thought grimly, if that's what it takes for him to be remembered, then I'll do it.

So with that, she stood up, looking once more into the pool, as if asking her reflection what it thought of her now. But standing there, behind the girl in the water, was another figure… a familiar figure… but it couldn't be..?

She spun around with an almost frightened whisper. "Tobias?" she gasped fearfully.

But there was nobody there.

---

You know, I realized about halfway through this that it's almost an opposite version of Someday. Ah well, you all liked that a lot…

As I said, this is dedicated to hotpink72, for knocking the sense into me with her review, and I quote: "THIS IS HORRIBLE! GO BACK TO HOW U USED TO WRITE! SOMEDAY. GO READ THAT AGAIN!"

Thank you for that. Certainly cleared my head. Sorry to all the people I disappointed with my bad one shots… I now look at them and wince.

So, to get my reviewers back, I decided to write another angsty death fic. And it worked, right? Right?

--Fox