Hiyo! I hadn't realized how long it had been since I posted a chapter. I am extremely, extremely sorry! High school keeps me hoppin' and I barely have time to write a few sentences here and there (and sometimes in the middle of Honors Earth Science!). This is probably one of the last chapters…I hope you'll enjoy it as much as possible. I'm not much good at writing drama. See you soon and please review! Oh, and if you think that the Goddess's story about her 'family' is a little out-of-context, I'm priming you for a later story that will CHANGE everything. So…just deal with it for now, right?

The Scarlet Sky: Yes. He is. Marry Gray. Gray roxors your soxors--and mine! And yes…sad stuff is ahead. Sorry about that. Thank you so much for your review!

Moonlit Dreaming: It should be rather obvious after this chapter. Just reread the part with the Goddess and you'll have your answer. If you still don't know, I'll clarify in the next chapter.

Ultra Drama Queen: I'm sorry to hear that you're so attached to May. I can't help you there…but everything is going to work out alright in the end. Thanks for the review! -huggles-

1angelette: Ahhhh! SO close!

Gamerzgal: Hello! Ah, thank you so much for your review. Your reviews always make me smile. No worries about Mary and Stu. I have…other plans for both of them. That should become obvious in my next story Die Now Kthnx! Whee! I hope you get an account soon!

KG.: Read on my friend, read on…

Awesome Rapidash: May I say that your rapidash is looking particulary awesome today? I'm so sorry for making you wait. NO LONGER! Read! Whee!

Kuruk: Trusting you got my PM, I'll say thank you again for giving me an AWESOME idea for the ending of the MTM series within your review. Thank you so much for reading!

Ekoaleko: Ohhh…all these people who are disappointed about May! I'm sorry! You'll see her again soon, though, I promise! Not in this story, but soon! Thanks for your review!

Don't Have a Username: Teeheehee You are so near the end. READ ON FANFICTION SOLDIER!

Harvest Moon Glows: OMG! Peanut brittle! You are so so so sweet! -hugs- Isn't Lumina a funny drunk? Gee. I can't say much more here without spoiling the ending…oh, and my preference is really chocolate chip, but any kind works!

CHAPTER NINE: The Day the World Fell Apart

Ann woke up with a headache the next day. She turned her head to find Cliff still asleep in bed beside her with no expression on his face. Grrrrr. She thought as she rose slowly to go tend to the children. A thought had crossed her mind last night (a long arduous journey, everyone knows that joke). What if the Goddess wanted to speak to her because she had a solution to Lumina's problem? In that case, she should get over to the pond to meet her right away, as soon as she had cleaned up after breakfast. Monami wasn't even crying this morning which was a bad sign. The poor child was too tired and weak to muster up tears. If this didn't stop soon…Monami…Claire…Elli…Ann didn't want to think about it.

Losing her child would be like losing her soul.

She and Cliff avoided each other all morning and Ann was sorely tempted to put something terrible in his moon dumplings, just out of spite. She remembered her joke promise to Claire, that they'd grow up into old maids together. Why hadn't she honored that? Men were stupid! Stupid old Doug had persuaded her into dating Cliff. Bah.

Alex, oblivious as usual to the downcast atmosphere, chattered on about she and Cat's plans to make a flower necklace for Carter. "We asked Benji to help us, but he acted stupid and said that we were being girly! Benji's dumb. I can't see how Cat can stand being his sister! Monami's bad enough…but Benji crosses the line." She informed her parents gravely.

When Ann stepped outside that morning, after clearing away breakfast, she was pleased to find a ribbon of warmth in the air, like a greeting card from spring itself. It reminded her of when she was a little girl and how she loved wearing short sleeves as soon as possible. Today was too cold for short sleeves, but the wind was much softer than before as it swirled around her face. The villagers were milling about the town as she walked through the streets on her way to Clay Farm. Gray was already at work at the Forge, Rick was persuading Karen to wear shoes on their trip to the Clinic, Duke and Manna were arguing over something and Claire was sifting through snow to find stones. Ann waved to her friend as she passed through the farm.

It always surprised Ann how the Goddess Pond never froze over in winter. The lake froze easily, but the tiny pond beside the Hot Springs remained relatively warm. She made her way over to the pond and sat beside it, wishing she'd brought something to sit on. Now how do I draw her out? She wondered. "Eh…Goddess?"

Nothing answered.

"Hey, Goddess…you asked me to come talk to you…so here I am. Where are you?" Still no one answered. Irked, Ann dipped a hand in the water and stirred it around. Within seconds, the Goddess rose primly out of the water and focused on her visitor.

"Finally! You're here."

Ann frowned. "Why didn't you come when I first called you?"

"I don't work by word of mouth, I only answer when someone presents me with an offering. You stuck your hand into my water and I assumed that you were offering your hand to me. That was your intent, right?"

"N-no. You can't have my hand…I kind of need it!"

"Well, don't offer something you aren't prepared to lose!" The Goddess shook her finger in a motherly manner.

"What? I most certainly was not offering my hand to you!" Ann cried. "I just stuck it in the pond for fun!"

The Goddess was crestfallen. "Oh." She looked around. "Well, I can't come up for just any reason, so I'll go back down until you can find a real offering." She dove back into her pond, leaving Ann in disbelief. After watching the water for a few minutes, Ann realized that the Goddess meant what she said and began searching for an offering. She finally found a rock and pitched it into the pond. The Goddess, once again, rose primly to the surface. "Well, well, well! Long time no see, Ann!" She picked up the rock and chucked it over her shoulder.

"…you said you wanted to tell me something, right? Is it a way to break Lumina's curse?"

"No." Ann's face darkened and she considered leaving. The Goddess understood that and said, "But it might help you understand the circumstances better. It also might give you a better view of Mercury. Now." She said cozily, settling herself more comfortably onto the surface of the water. "I'm going to tell you something that very few Young Ones know anything about. I'm going to tell you about the Great Spirits."

Ann felt a sense of being let down. That was it? She'd been so curious about this conversation…and now all she was going to hear was a story about some spirits? How was this going to help anything. "Okay." She agreed, her voice flat with disappointment.

"These Great Spirits are guardians of Young Ones, like yourself. I am one of the six Great Spirits…the leader, actually. 'Harvest Goddess' is actually a title of rank…the 'Harvest Goddesses' are always the head, just like the 'Witch Princess' is always second-in-command. The Great Spirits call themselves sisters, but in reality we are not kin. Well, most of the time we aren't. Mercury and I are exceptions…we actually were step-sisters before we became goddesses…"

"Wait a minute!" Ann called. "What do you mean 'became goddesses'? Aren't you…you know…immortal? Haven't you always been the Harvest Goddess?"

Juno eyed her listener warily. "Good heavens, child, no! What an idea. We have a time limit and then the Harvest Goddess choo…ah…never mind that! That's not for you to know! Just understand this (I know it sounds odd); Great Spirits have three lives. I can't explain it any further."

"That's all great and good, but how does any of this pertain to me?"

"It doesn't." Juno answered, uncomfortable. "I thought you'd want to know. This is very classified information…I see now…I should have talked to Mary…"

Ann backed down. "Well…I mean…it is interesting…now…what about Mercury?"

Juno's pearly smile returned to her beautiful face. "There now! I'll tell you about the six Spirits, Mercury included. First off is the Harvest Goddess. That's me. I'm the most powerful and the one with the most authority. That also means that I have the most responsibility over what my sisters do." Which is why I feel so bad about this whole deal with Lumina… "I work in matters of love and making sure everything runs smoothly. Here's an interesting bit of knowledge for you. Every Spirit has an opposite; an opposing force, if you will. It helps balance things out. My opposing spirit is Eros, but I'll get to her in a minute. Mercury, being the Witch Princess, is second-in-command and right beneath me in power. She's always been stronger than me in dark spells, however. I can't help that.

"I want you to understand that while blame definitely lies with Mercury on behalf of Lumina's curse, that kind of mistake is ingrained in Merury's character because of her rank. Her area of magic is in mischief and keeping me in check. You could say that Mercury is under her own type of curse. Really, she has no luck. Her opposite is Felicitas, the Spirit of Luck. Also, Mercury was rather reluctant to accept her job as a goddess. I wouldn't say that she has the best attitude towards her current line of work.

"Moving on, Felicitas is next. As aforesaid, she is the Spirit of Luck, opposing Mercury's Spirit of Mischief. Felicitas is sometimes called Lady Luck. As you may already have surmised, she works out people's luck and may occasionally deny you fortune if she just doesn't like you. She likes to hand out windfalls more than de-luckify you, though.

"Next in the line is Moririsa. She is the Spirit of Death. It's not the most glamorous or pleasant of jobs, but it is necessary. Someone has to watch over that business. Despite what you may think, Moririsa isn't The Black Monster of Death from some swamp. She's a normal girl who just happens to be fit for this particular job. I tell you, she is so misrepresented in everyday talk. It's not like she's the one that kills the people…usually. You see, she can't take a life on her own authority. She has to have the approbation of her opposite, Perse.

"Perse is the Spirit of Life and a sweeter-tempered girl you'll never find. She watches over childbirth and co-determines lifelines with her opposite. She'd be the last to abuse her power, but it's a rule that she can't raise a Young One from the dead without agreement from Moririsa. You'd be surprised with how well those two get along. Most opposites don't get along very well. Felicitas and Mercury loathe each other. It's a shame…

"The last of the Great Spirits is a shady character even though she's a goddess. I suppose she can't help it…it's her job…but even so…I like her least of all the Spirits. She's my opposite and is the Spirit of Marital Strife. Her name is Eros and she's a flighty girl who loves misery and toying with men's hearts. She also likes seeing women cry…though how she can be so cruel to her own sex, I don't know. It's my opinion that she has some serious inferiority issues. So. Any questions?" Juno looked beatifically at Ann.

"Wow." Ann said, her brain working overtime, trying to process all the information that had been inserted into it. "Ehh…why don't I ever see any of the other Spirits?"

The Goddess smiled indulgently and said: "You don't see them because it's important that they remain hidden. How do you think the world would react to the knowledge of our existence? Goodness, everyone and their brother would be at this pond, wailing about this problem and that argument and pretty soon we'd just die of exhaustion! No, thank you! I value my sanity!" A faint purple light began to shine out of the depths of her pond and she looked down, alarmed. A shadow of sadness passed over her face and remained. She turned her eyes fondly back to Ann. "I am needed elsewhere. It's been good talking to you. Do me a favor, will you, sweetheart? Will you send Lumina to me? I…need to talk to her."

She then dived into her pond. Ann had the vague suspicion that there was an ulterior motive as to why the Goddess had talked with her. She left the pond area slowly, glancing back at the now-dark waters. When she told Lumina of the Goddess's request, Lumina immediately threw on a sweater and exited the Inn. Ann, worried and curious, pretended to read a random book as she waited for her sister-in-law's return. The look on Juno's face as she bade Ann goodbye was so odd…it was so sad and full of regret. Something was bothering her and that thing had to do with Lumina. Whatever bothered a goddess couldn't be good.

Alex had gone to spend the night at Natsumi's house by the time Lumina returned. Ann heard the door open and immediately looked up from the book she had been pretending to read. Lumina's eyes were red and watery and she bore a bewildered expression on her face. This hit Ann in the stomach, flipping her heart over in her chest. "Lu?" She asked tentatively.

Lumina began to speak, but the words choked up in her throat. She held up a hand and dashed up the stairs to her room. Whatever she was thinking, feeling and agonizing over, she didn't share the information, nor did she come down the stairs that night. When she finally descended to the lower level the next morning, all traces of tears were gone. Instead, her countenance was very set; determined. She didn't mention the events of the day before and Ann was wise enough not to ask.

Karen visited the Inn after breakfast to inform her friend that the ultrasound had been delayed by a day and she was now on her way to the Clinic. "Congratulations!" Ann squealed.

"Thank you." Karen said happily. "I was wondering, since you've delivered more girls than anyone else in this town, would you come with me…for good luck?"

Ann smiled and held the feverish Monami tighter in her arms. "Sure." She answered.

"You're doing great, Karen. Just a few more seconds and I'll have a good picture." Elli said, rubbing the small machine over Karen's tummy. "Almost have it…just a second…got it! There's your baby!"

Karen and Rick stared at the screens in exhilaration. "Is she healthy? Is she whole?" Karen asked anxiously.

Elli didn't answer for a second. "Oh, the baby's healthy, for sure. We just have one problem here…"

"What?" Rick nearly yelled. "What's the problem."

Ann anticipated the answer before it left Elli's lips. "It's a he." She said under her breath, at the exact same time as Elli said it.

------------------------------------------------

"So then Karen freaks out and starts sobbing like crazy! Rick was trying to calm her down and I slipped out the door." Ann told Lumina later that day. "Rick had this little smile on his face the whole time. I think he's excited about a son."

Lumina smiled an odd smile. "Have they picked out a name for him?"

"No…Karen was yelling about how she'd never believe it was a boy…"

"Oh." Lumina's smile dropped, then re-fixed itself. "I'm sure she'll feel better soon."

She said it with such conviction that Ann even believed it for a few moments.

-----------------------------------------------

It was an interesting coincidence that the world fell apart on the first day of spring. The morning started as innocent and fresh as spring could be, but the calm was shattered when it began spreading through the town that Gray had sprinted to the Clinic, white and shaking, to tell Tim that Claire had collapsed and wouldn't wake up. The situation was bad, but it became worse when he found Tim sweating and scurrying about trying to bring Elli's extremely high fever down.

Soon after, Manna was seen hurrying out of the Winery, a trickle of blood dribbling down the side of her face, looking like she had been cut by something thick and sharp--a broken bottle of liquor, perhaps.

Karen was attempting to cut up a carrot when the knife gave her an interesting idea. Who said she had to live in this condition? Would Rick really miss her? Would anyone miss her? She stared greedily at the gleam of the kitchen light on the sharp metal.

Despite Tim's best efforts, Claire would not wake. Gray paced the floor nearby, biting his hand and breathing fast. If Claire left him, he would be nothing but a shell. If he could run to the end of the earth and back to heal her, he'd do it. He was helpless, trapped and frightened. Meanwhile, his wife's pulse kept getting weaker and weaker…

All of these calamities could not match up to the gravity of the moment that evening in which Ann felt the tiny heart in her arms begin to beat faster, faster, faster and then not at all. It was sudden and unexpected. Ann gasped and put the child down on a table, ripping open the blanket to feel the still chest. Monami was gone. Just like that. Gone. Ann's existence vaporized and the color drained from everything around her. She stopped breathing and didn't realize it until she was gasping for breath, gripping the table like it could somehow turn around time. Tears filled her eyes and she dropped to her knees, unable to stand anymore.

Lumina awoke from a light doze when the a scream, more lurid and ghastly than anything Mineral Town had ever heard, cut through the air. She sat up straight, the color gone from her skin. She knew what had happened--she'd known it would happen for a few days. Without stopping to grab anything, she climbed out her window by way of a ladder she'd put there herself and began to run towards Mother's Hill.

She was past the point of no return and it was ending tonight.