**** Hi all, I'm finally posting, and soooo glad for it. I've been slaving away on homework, and fighting laziness so those two factors are to blame for any delay. I got no complaints from anyone about why I'm not posting, so I guess you are all okay out there. I finished the outline for this story, and we're looking at...13 chapters plus a twisty epilogue (but only if you really want it. I could just leave you hanging).

Go to my profile to see the new illustration for this chapter. Also, I've been posting chapters of a Kingdom Hearts Parody that I wrote with my friend. It's pretty funny, I think. So go check it out!

Alright, enjoy your chapter and see ya soon!****

Chapter Seven

It's Important

Myla began her story with a sigh masquerading as a breath to prepare herself. It was such a despondent sound, however, that Simon was instantly put in a gloomy mood when he heard it.

The look on her face only reinforced what he already knew: Linus and everything, everyone and every moment around him were shrouded in grief. The only knowledge of the story Simon lacked was the details. The rest was easy for him to see, written in the melancholy lines tracing both Linus' and Myla's eyes.

She began by laying out a brief history of Cascade, mentioning that the citizens had never been comfortable underground, and that they had been striving toward the surface for generations.

"We broke through about ten years ago," she explained. "The first few months all we did was celebrate. We had found our way out of the cage, we would live in wealth and joy for the rest of our lives. But…the beastmen showed us how wrong we were. We hadn't found peace, we found death."

Simon looked at his friend's faces as Myla described the beastmen's early assaults on Cascade. Their reactions were nearly undetectable at first, but the more they heard, the sadder they became.

In the first year, there was a war between the townspeople and the invaders, but the winter quickly ended the dispute. The beastmen retreated until summer, and the people of Cascade struggled to survive the unfamiliar temperatures in what was left of their home. When Myla announced how many people died of starvation and cold that year, Yoko's face lost all color and she became exceedingly still. Kamina looked bored as always, but he was silent for too long to be unmoved.

"Linus was the only child his age to survive the first winter," Myla said. "His mother died though. It wasn't uncommon that year, or even the next, to lose a parent or a sibling. My own younger brother died in his bed while my mother and I were fixing a pathetic dinner in the next room. Those kinds of things happened every day."

Myla paused, clearly struggling with her emotions. Her voice was stronger when she went on. "Linus and his father lived in the same building as I did. Linus and I were friends, though he was a few years younger than me, and he did like to keep to himself. I don't think even half the people in this town knew he who he was until last year."

Then, she came to the part everyone wanted to hear. Someone had spotted Paradise on the horizon one day when the snow storms had calmed. Over the next few months excitement grew, until musings became fact; "Salvation could be found on that mountain," Myla said, and smiled sadly. "We just had to get there first."

"After the fifth winter we had figured out some ways to survive, but it still wasn't enough. There was no way we could go on living with so little. Paradise was our only hope, so we began our investigations." She laughed then, not mirthlessly. "There was one boy who wanted to go to Paradise more than anyone. His name was Saburo, which means 'the third son', although no one was sure whose son he was. He was just another orphan, except he may have been the most cheerful orphan you would ever meet."

Simon recognized the name, and looked at Linus with worry. The boy didn't move, and slept on unknowingly. Myla explained that three years ago a large expedition was sent out to try and reach Paradise, with Linus' father as the leader. Unfortunately, no one from the team returned, even after an entire year passed.

"Linus lived alone while his father was gone, but the more time passed, the more certain we became that the entire expedition team had been wiped out." Myla stopped to release one of her characteristic sighs, and Simon realized that she had not looked any of her audience in the eye as she spoke. "All orphans were assigned to a caretaker, but for some reason, Saburo volunteered to adopt Linus instead. He was an adult, and legally able to, but it still surprised many of us. They hadn't been friends before, as far as I know, but after that I never saw them apart."

Simon felt something spark in his gut. The feeling of familiarity he often sensed around Linus returned, though clearer now than it had been before. He was aware of a sort of revelation, a life-altering discovery waiting so close that he could see its outline, but far enough that it still made no sense to him.

He's been trying to tell me something…

"Everyone knew Saburo as the town charmer. He was handsome, tactful and genuinely compassionate…and, he had big dreams about reaching Paradise, even when everyone else lost hope. He often dragged Linus into conflicts with the beastmen, who were also trying to reach the mountain. Those two were nothing but trouble, but everyone admired Saburo's determination."

Simon frowned, now that the odd feeling faded a little. He listened absently as Myla continued.

"And then, sometime about a year back, Saburo announced that he was going to build a bridge to Paradise. The town bridge builder had approved the plans, and construction would start once the supplies were gathered.

" 'We need all the metal you can spare to build to supports,' I remember Saburo saying to us. He organized a collection of all the metal scraps in the town, an over a few moths the pile grew. He apparently stole much of it from the Beastmen's gunmen, though no one actually saw him do that. It was just a rumor."

"Would you get to the point already?" Kamina chimed. Myla and Yoko both shot him with a look, and he huffily settled down. Simon couldn't blame him really; he was feeling anxious too, though for a completely different reason.

"Saburo set out with a team of bridge builders, and Linus tagged along of course. There was another person with them, a girl who was not a native to Cascade. I think…I can't remember her name, but she went with them. Linus really liked her, if I remember right…" Myla muttered this, failing to hide a small twinkle of distaste in her words.

For the next few weeks everyone in town could watch the supports slowly being built, the skeleton of the bridge coming together. Myla described the happiness lightening the town, how people were expectant and hopeful. This was their "second chance" at a comfortable life, and perhaps, their last chance as well.

"The bridge could not fail. It had to be ready for winter, and it seemed like it might just be finished in time." The gloomy look returned, foreshadowing disaster. "But one day we all awoke to fire on the horizon. Everyone ran to the observation decks, where we watched our precious bridge go up in flames and smoke. There was nothing we could do. By the end, the whole bridge was gone, as if it had never been. It was…devastating."

"It was only about three days later when someone found Linus on the street," she went on. "They thought he was dead. He didn't look like he had eaten in weeks, he was covered in cuts and gashes, and his left arm ended just above his elbow in bloody stump. They took him to the hospital, and the doctors did what they could, though there was no saving that arm. He slept for a month, never even opening his eyes."

Meanwhile the people of Cascade were thrown into despair. Simon could imagine how frightened they were, both of the winter and of whatever had destroyed their bridge. Myla said that they were sick with grief, and that they wanted something to explain it all. Someone to blame this disaster on.

"It started when Linus woke up," she murmured, looking at the boy unhappily. "He…would say things that no one understood. Sometimes he would shout and scream like something was hurting him, and he would argue to the air. Eventually we figured out that he was fighting with an imaginary Saburo."

"I hope you can understand how a town of desperate people could twist it all around. The rumors said that he had been angry at his own people for sending his father on a doomed mission, and that in retaliation he had brought the beastmen and their powerful gunmen here to destroy the bridge. There wasn't a person in this town who hadn't been impacted, so there were plenty of people looking for a scapegoat. I still can't believe they all bought that story. Linus couldn't defend himself anyhow. He was so broken up that he couldn't explain what had really happened, not to mention how physically weak he was from his wounds."

Yoko shifted on the bed where she sat. "You didn't believe Linus was guilty then, did you? You supported him, and that's why you're the only one who can calm him down from a fit, right?"

Myla nodded. "I will never believe that Linus was responsible. He's a good kid, and besides that the bridge to Paradise was Saburo's greatest dream. Linus adored Saburo, anyone could see that, and there is no way he would betray someone who was like a brother to him."

Simon suddenly sat upright as if he had been shocked. All his drifting thoughts seemed to connect together with those words, and after a few minutes he was sure that he had finally realized the answer to that elusive question. Why did Linus seem so familiar to him? He was sure he knew.

But everyone was still talking, and though the words were piling up behind his teeth, Simon could not speak. He willed them all to hurry up and finish before his triumphant deduction spilled out of his mind.

Finally, Linus began moaning in his sleep, and Myla broke off the conversation to comfort him, leaving Kamina and Yoko free to wander about the hospital. Simon snatched both of their arms and dragged them to the side, excitement making his hands like iron bands around their wrists. He had to tell them. It couldn't wait.

"What's the matter with you Simon?" Yoko grumbled, and gently twisted free of his grasp.

"I have to tell you something. It's really important!" He was nearly jumping in the air, so ready were the words. "Whenever I see Linus, I get this feeling, right? Like we know each other, but I can't remember where I would have seen him before. I can't really explain it, but it keeps happening over and over. I get this idea, like I'm supposed to know something, but…"

Kamina made a face, annoyed. "Huh? What are you saying, bro?"

Distressed, Simon hurriedly got to the point. "I just realized something when Myla was telling her story. The reason I feel like I know Linus, is because I am Linus."

The subsequent pause was heavy, and so quiet that the cricket in the corner could be heard singing its lonely tune.

"Uh…" Yoko hummed, looking at him with worry. "Could you run that by me again?"

"Yeah, waddya mean, you are Linus?" Kamina asked skeptically. He didn't seem to like the idea. "Is this some kind of stupid riddle?"

"Just listen! Think about it!" Simon begged. "Our personalities are the same. We're both shy, and no one ever noticed us because we're so…you know…except then Linus met Saburo, and I met you, Bro! You and Saburo are the same! And Myla mentioned another girl that they teamed up with, just like we met Yoko."

They weren't buying it; he could see the doubt on their faces. Did they think he was crazy like Linus too? "The same kinds of things happened to me and Linus, and we act the same way. Don't you see? We're practically the same person!"

"Well," Yoko tried to laugh, "They do say everyone has a twin…"

Kamina rolled his eyes. "Come on Simon, do you even hear yourself? Saburo and I aren't the same, cus he's dead and I'm not and never will be! Besides, that Linus kid is wacko. You two aren't the same either."

"No!" Simon cried. "That's just it! I'll bet Linus was just like me before he went to Paradise. Whatever horrible things that happened there made him the way he is now. Losing all the people he loved made him crazy. But don't you get it? That's what he's been trying to say all along."

"No, I really don't get it," Kamina sighed.

Simon desperately glanced at Yoko, but she too was staring at him with confused eyes. He swallowed, an unwelcome lump appearing in his throat. This was so important. He had to make them understand.

"If…I were to lose you both…if you both died today along with all our other friends…I know that I would become just like Linus." He spoke slowly, partially out of emotion, and partially out of his need to understand the words coming out of his own mouth. "Myla said Linus and Saburo were like brothers. And whoever that girl was, she was close to them too. For all of them to die at once is what really made Linus crazy. He wants me to know that if I let that happen to you guys, I'll end up just like him."

Yoko's eyes were bright with sympathy, but even that could not mask her uncertainty. "Simon, I really think you might be over thinking this a little."

"I'm not over thinking anything! I know this is important!"

"Well good," Kamina said mightily. "If it's important to you, then stand up for it with all you've got. But, remember this! There's no way you're going to go crazy, because none of us are going to die on you, not ever. Team Gurren protects their own, and we never leave a man behind!" He straightened and stretched his long arms. "Now, I'm starving. Let's go see if we can find something to eat around here."