Disclaimer: The series Magic Knight Rayearth doesn't belong to me. The sucky poem does, though. And my usually large amount of bad luck too. Feel free to steal that last item!!!
T.L. Umi R.: I hate making cliffhangers. (That is an obvious lie. *devil horns pop up on head*) Though it shouldn't seem unusual. You and the others have been through so much of it. *grins*
Rei: If it is a Clef/Umi you want, then maybe it will be a Clef/Umi you shall get! ^_^
Yukishin: Riana is an a**hole, that's what. *nods head* Yeah... You wouldn't hear another author diss a character that he/she would create, but I guess I'm weird like that. *grins*
Silver Dragonfly: And I DID write more! Here it is!! Oh, love your username! It's soooo cool!!!!
Aylee the Dragon: Unfortunately, Umi went for a coffee break... No, just kidding! ^_^
Kaiya: Yeah... I lied to Aylee. Umi didn't go to a coffee break. She went to the toy store to buy a blue dragon. *grins* JUST KIDDING!!!!
Shazzam: Sillyness makes the world go round!!!! @_@ And makes me dizzy. Nah! But you SHOULD write a story on it! It'd be quite amusing!
Digi*girl: Oh!!! Happy... *counts on fingers* BELATED B-DAY!!!! ^_^ And the only flames I really get are on cliffhangers... Aiyaa... hehe
Bearit: Another thing on cliffhangers!!! Wow... Do you have any clue how many of those I pass by each time I update a chapter? Kinda tells me something... hehe
Lastat: *gives her a tissue* Well... *also hands her next chapter* HERE YOU GO!!!
Mitsuko Hime: *nods head* Yes, I must admit that tomatoes are very ineffective and threats are usual... much... *turns to look at her* Are you talking about... *points at self and squeaks* me? Oh dear. ^_^U Gotta run!!! (And about Riana getting on your hit list... Let's see how you feel after this chapter. ^_^)
Marzy001: *takes a chain and wraps it around Umi and Clef many times* Here's your present!!!! *smiles even though Clef and Umi are glaring at Drkdemon evilly* I think I'll do this for ALL of the people who read my fics... Hmm... Hehe.
Hildi-chan: I hate my cliffhangers too... They're putting me in so much trouble... T_T
The 80lb Carrot: Mokona... WHAT A GOOD IDEA!!! *curses* Should have done that!
Korosu: *sniff* THANKS A LOT!!!! Well, can't blame ya for sayin' those things! ^_^ Wells... Here's next chapter, so can you leave the killing for later? *runs outta there quickly*
Trina: Thank you! ^_^ So nice!!! NO THREATS!!!!
Neko-chan: NO! Don't worry!! Diss Riana as much as you want!!! ^_^
Ghettoangel: Awww... I hate being grounded, too. Being grounded is evil. EVIL!!!!
Akimi Kaori: *scrolls through script* Hmmm... Umi coming back... NOT HAPPENING!!! *sees readers with guns and runs for it* ACK!!!!
*~*~*~*~*~*
Untitled
See the truth with opened eyes
It's time to face it, no more lies
Don't hide from yourself what can't be hid
Take the falsities away, open the lid
Time to see what's meant to be seen
What has happened, what you have secretly dreamed
Let go of your fears and don't turn away
Hear the voices shout, hear them sway
Go back to the past, or to the present
It don't matter, just don't be hesitant
Time to see the world for what it's meant to be
Open your eyes, embrace the love you'll see
*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter Nine: Awakened Truths
"This can't be!" Riana shouted. "THIS CAN'T BE!!!"
The entire group turned around.
"Riana!" Hikaru gasped. "When did YOU get here?"
Riana shook her head, staring straight ahead at the ocean. "HOW?!?! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!?!" she shrieked.
Clef ran up to Riana. "Riana!" he said. "Listen to me. You need to understand something-" Riana pushed him away. "STAY AWAY FROM ME!!" she shrieked. "You! You all did this, didn't you?!" she yelled. "YOU ALL CAUSED THIS TO HAPPEN!!!"
Fuu stared at her. "What?! What did we cause?!"
"No..." Riana gasped in anger, shaking her head. "NO!"
"Riana..." Clef whispered. "You don't understand. I KNOW how you were able to come back. We found out that-"
Riana turned her head around to stare straight at Clef, causing him to silence himself. Then, she stared at Hikaru and Fuu. "You two..." she mumbled. "You two must have done it!" she yelled and ran straight at them.
Ferio and Lantis got in front of them and held out their swords.
"You will not harm Hikaru and Fuu," Lantis said.
Riana stopped in her tracks, but that didn't mean that her fury was gone. "YOU TWO CAUSED THIS!!!" she continued yelling at Hikaru and Fuu. "I KNOW IT! I KNOW IT!!"
"What is this about?!" Clef yelled.
Suddenly, the water started to rumble louder where the blue light was shining. There, the body started to take form. Long, sleek blue hair was flowing out.
Riana shook her head. "No," she whispered. "I won't take this!"
Two long legs were forming. The height was forming to be about Fuu's height.
"I WON'T LET HER COME BACK!!!" Riana yelled, and suddenly, she shot her arm out, and sent a spurge of power at the body. Once it made contact, the figure bent in pain.
Clef grabbed onto Riana's arm. "What are you DOING, Riana?!" he demanded.
"NO! I worked so HARD to get back here! I won't let her take it away from me! I won't!"
"You... did what?" he whispered.
"I won't have her coming back!! I WON'T!!!" And with those words, Riana jerked her arm away from Clef's grip, and ran to where the body was taking form. She stopped right at the edge of the water, glaring at the blue light that enveloped the form. "You didn't want to be lonely anymore!" she yelled. "I gave you your wish! I helped you make it come true!!! Why must you be so selfish?!"
"Selfish?" Hikaru whispered.
"Wait a minute!" Fuu shouted. "Why isn't Riana fading away?" she asked. "Isn't she... Isn't she..."
"I WON'T HAVE YOU TAKING ME AWAY!!!" Riana shouted, and sent another bolt of power at the form. The body bent in pain once more. "I'll KILL you before you can destroy this!" she yelled.
"NO!" Fuu and Hikaru yelled, and ran up to Riana.
Riana turned around. "YOU two stay AWAY!!!" she yelled, and sent a gust of wind, holding them back.
Clef ran up to Riana. "SHIELD!!!" he yelled, blocking her blow. Getting up to her, he grabbed her arm, and jerked her. "I suggest you better explain right now, Riana, before I feel that I must FORCE you to."
Riana's eyes widened. "How did you come up with a will strong enough to block my... No," she whispered, shocked at the realization of it all. "You couldn't! You can't betray me!!! Not like this!!!" she yelled, grabbing onto him. "Please, Clef!"
Clef stared at her. "You still need to start explaining."
Hikaru and Fuu walked up to her. "Yes, you do," Fuu whispered.
Riana stared up at Fuu. And then at Hikaru.
"NO!!! ARROW!!! LANNA!!!" Caldina yelled.
Clef, Hikaru and Fuu turned around. Riana looked straight ahead. Caldina tried to grasp onto Arrow and Lanna, but now, they were almost gone, and her arms went right through them.
Lanna looked around, and then closed her eyes. "Good-bye, everybody," she whispered, and then... she wasn't anymore.
Arrow sighed, and nodded. "Such pain... Farewell, all." Shortly afterwards, he was gone, too.
Clef turned around, and looked straight at Riana. "You are the only one who is left now. So there MUST be a reason why you are still here."
Riana smirked. "Dear Clef..." she whispered. "Did you truly think that I died? That back then, you killed me?"
Clef nodded. "Yes. I did."
"Well, no big surprise there, I guess."
"Riana?" he whispered. "What are you trying to say?"
Riana stared at him. "I never died, Clef."
*~*~*~*~*~*
OUCH! That HURT!!! Umi gasped. Where... where am I? It feels... wet! But... I thought I was gone...
There's yelling outside. Outside of where I am. I can hear it.
And crying. Oh, no... There's crying, too! But... I don't want them to cry! What happened?!
And right now, I can't move... Why can't I move?
I wonder... did everything work? I'm really tired. And-
AAAHHH!!!! Something's hitting me! Great... I STILL feel pain after I'm gone. This is SO not funny...
*~*~*~*~*~*
Clef stared at her. "What?!" he then yelled. "Of COURSE you died!"
Fuu watched as Clef and Riana were engaged in something. "Hikaru," she whispered. "I think we should go see Umi now."
Hikaru nodded. "We promised we'd be there for each other. To help each other out! She wouldn't let us. I don't really think we'll give her the choice anymore."
Fuu and Hikaru got up, and ran to the edge of the water. The form was a couple yards in, so the two waded in a bit.
"Umi," Hikaru called out. "Umi. Can you hear me?!"
The body was shimmering in a blue light, still floating.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Somebody... Somebody is yelling at me, I think. Who can it be, though... I wonder if it's Hikaru, or Fuu. If it's them, then they must be mad at me. And that means... that it didn't work. Oh, no!
Umi started to cry inside. And then, all of a sudden, she heard the words clearly. The explanations. The... truth...
*~*~*~*~*~*
"She can hear us," Fuu said. "I know she can."
Hikaru nodded. "OH!" she said. "Don't you remember? When Clef found her and brought her back, and she woke up, she wouldn't talk. She COULDN'T talk to us. And Clef, then he used..."
"His mind!" Fuu concluded.
"NO YOU DON'T!!!"
Fuu and Hikaru turned around, and suddenly, a blast of wind blew them away from the body, and back to the beach.
Riana glared at them. "Taking advantage of my being away. That's awful!"
Hikaru and Fuu groaned, trying to get up.
"I've seen ENOUGH!" Ferio yelled, and took out his sword and ran at Riana.
"HAVE YOU ALL NOT LEARNED?!" she yelled, glaring at Ferio. Suddenly, her eyes glowed, stopping Ferio in his tracks.
"I..." he whispered. "I can't move!"
The only ones that were left were La Farga, Caldina, Presea, Eagle, Lantis, and Ascot. "You did this!" Ascot whispered. "You did something!"
Riana turned her eyes to the six of them, and they glowed once more. And this time, instead of having them freeze in their place, Riana made them fall down, asleep. But Ascot was still standing.
"You already know what's going on," she growled. "If not, you'd be sleeping and dreaming, too."
"I think that I've had enough dreams for now," he growled, and then chanted, "MONSTER SUMMON!!" as he unleashed one of his creatures at her.
Riana held her hand up, and the creature disappeared. Ascot's eyes widen at this, and backed up a bit. Then, his eyes turned to slits. "If I can't have my friends help me," he whispered in a deadly voice. "Then I'll just do it myself!!!!" And with that, he ran towards her.
Before Riana could do anything, Clef quickly got in front of her. "NO!" he yelled. "Wait, Ascot!"
Ascot turned red at Clef's move. "How can you protect her?! AFTER WHAT SHE DID?!" he yelled.
"What DID she do, Ascot? Do you know what she did?"
Ascot shifted around. "I guess not," he growled. "But I do know that she did something to Umi, and I won't let her go!"
Clef turned to look at Riana. "I suggest that you better start explaining, like what I asked you before."
Hikaru and Fuu were walking towards them. "And let Ferio go," Fuu said.
Riana took one look around, and sighed. "I will," she finally said. "If you promise that he will not attack me."
"We will make sure that it will not happen," Fuu promised softly.
Riana smirked, and looked at Ferio. A second later, he stumbled, and fell to the ground. "Ferio!" Fuu yelled, and ran to him. She picked him up.
Ferio looked up at Fuu. "I'm sorry," he whispered, looking up at her. "I'm sorry that I couldn't fight to protect you or anything."
Fuu shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Now come on. Let's get back to where everybody else is gathered right now. I think some of our questions might finally be answered now."
Suddenly, Riana turned to look at the body in the ocean. Her eyes glowed, and the body stopped moving. It was frozen there.
Clef's eyes widened. "WHAT did you do?!" he demanded.
Riana turned back to look at him. "Do you want me to explain or not, love?" she whispered. "If you do, I suggest you do nothing to anything right now."
"You just better not harm Umi in any way," Hikaru growled.
"I won't," she whispered. "Just yet. Now... let's go." Riana waved her hand around, and suddenly, the surroundings around them melted, and they were standing in a foggy, white place.
Riana then backed up from them, and asked, "Do you think that I am real?"
"Why should we know?" Fuu asked. "You were created from Umi's wish."
Riana laughed harshly. "Don't you wish that were true! How about I show you the REAL reason..." And then, she waved her hand once more. This time, they entered a dark, gray area, and the fog was still there.
"Where are you taking us?" Hikaru asked.
"Nowhere. We are already here," Riana said. "This is where I first appeared. Isn't this a lovely place?" she smiled grimly. "When Clef thought that I died, he was most certainly mistaken. I didn't die. Instead, when he told me about his feelings, I couldn't take it. I couldn't stand the fact that I couldn't love him back because of my obligation to the pillar. So instead, I started to fade away. I started to chain myself down. Instead of dying, I just disappeared from Cephiro.
"I found myself here," she whispered coldly. "Wandering around forever. For centuries. I had no clue how long I stayed here. All I knew was that I had nothing to do but walk and walk, looking for something. Some place. But I couldn't find that thing. So instead, after a while, I just stayed in one place, sitting there, still waiting.
"And one day, I found that the scenery was changing. I found that a cliff was developing. And trees. And more. And then... I found that a person was with me. SHE had entered my world. Umi..." And then, with a flick of her hand, Riana showed them the scenery that Umi had gone through ever night for the past week in every dream.
"I was so surprised to see her," Riana continued. "She had somehow entered my world. And I understood why, too. It turns out that I could see what was in her mind. What she felt whenever she was with me. The first time I saw her, I begged her to help free me from my own mind. I found out she was a magic knight. It was so weird to speak again in my mind. When I first talked, it really gave me shock. I begged her to free me. To let me come back here. To see Clef once more. I found out during first time when she and I met, that Clef was still alive, to my joy.
"But then, after she left, the scenery changed back." And Riana changed the scenery back to the gray, dark and foggy place. "I wanted to see the cliff again. Hear the sound of water. See the trees. The rocky terrain. You have no clue how torturing it was for me to catch a glimpse of life again, and have it turn back to this...
"And then," Riana smiled to no one in particular. "Before she came back, I wondered to myself... Why just wish to be free? Why not wish for more?! Why not... make up a new Cephiro? A new land? A new place for me to stay? To live? To be with my love for once more? It would work. It COULD work. I didn't have to share the glory with her! She didn't want to live in the first place. She felt so lonely that she didn't want to live. I had the power to help her make it so, too. My physical body may be gone, but my mental abilities were still here! I could have her help me come back!"
"So," Clef whispered, and his voice cracked. "That's why she was strong enough to make this happen. You were a pillar, too. Her will added with yours could have made this happen."
Riana nodded. She smiled at him. "You were always so smart, love. And night by night, she'd come back to me. Sometimes, I had to force her too, and most likely that's why she kept fainting in front of you all. I was so desperate for the colorful land that she brought with her each time she slept.
"And after a while, she started to trust me. I couldn't tell her my name, in case she has heard of me. I couldn't tell her how to free me, for that was a rule that I had to obey. But other than that, she seemed as if she was happy to see me. She didn't even know that as I read her mind, she read mine as well. I thought I was done for when somehow she slipped about me being CENTURIES old. I was scared she'd notice something about it, but she didn't. When she saw my eyes widen angrily, she thought it was what she had said. Well, in a way, I guess it could be. And after that, she would tell me what had happened to her during the day. She had no clue that with everything she told me, the more I resented her, and wanted to kill her for having so much fun, while I couldn't do that when I lived."
"I should kill you for doing that to her," Ferio whispered fiercely.
Riana smiled slyly at him. "Let me continue. And as she trusted me, I saw into her mind. She had always felt lonely. She may have had her friends, but she wanted somebody to LOVE as well. She wanted somebody there to hold her. Do you have any clue how much she envied you two, no matter how much she loved you?"
Hikaru and Fuu turned away, guilt in their faces.
"She had no clue that I was reading her like a book," Riana continued, smiling as she was. "She was lonely. She was depressed. What surprised me was that she didn't JUMP on the opportunity to be with YOU!" she said, looking at Ascot. "And it was because she KNEW she didn't feel that way about you, and she didn't want to lie to herself. She wanted to find somebody to love naturally. Not because somebody just confessed it to her, just like that. She knew if she did, it would just be a big fat lie."
Ascot's eyes showed pain.
"But," Riana admitted. "There was much she wouldn't let anybody know, so must she wouldn't admit to her own self. There were feelings she closed up, even to her own consciousness. Those, I couldn't read a thing into it, though I knew it was about her emotions. Her romantic emotions. Something that she couldn't even tell herself.
"And then, one day, when you all went Cephiro-sighting, she fell into the river. She thought it was herself. That she was getting weak. Hah! As if that were true. She had one of the strongest minds and will I had ever met. In fact, the reason that happened was because the water sensed that I was in her. Controlling her. And it wanted to get rid of me. It wanted me OUT of her. But she didn't know that, and the water was careless to try to take her down with me. Actually, you were lucky to find her, love. But still, I DID have no doubt about it that you would find her. And after that adventure, she talked with me. I was nervous that after that, she wouldn't trust the water at ALL. But luckily, I was saved from that fear.
"Shortly after that, I found myself in her mind. TRULY in her mind. She had figured out where she was the strongest, and how she can make it all come true. That fool," Riana laughed. "As if her will alone could've made it all come true, even though I must admit it was quite strong. I was lucky to be there in her mind when she started to will for this FANTASY to come true. So then, I realized that I could make some tiny adjustments to her wish. She wanted to free me. I had no clue she would've done it, but she did. And with that wish, she wanted other stuff to.
"She wanted you all to forget about her. She thought that she was holding you all down from your own happiness. She was always fainting. Always causing trouble. She wanted you all to forget about her. Who's fault is that?" she scoffed happily. "And as she willed for this, and wanting to free me, I was there with her, willing as well. I made myself materialize, just as she started to disappear. After she was gone, I went up to find Clef.
"It turns out everything that she had wanted came true. Fuu, Ferio, Hikaru and Lantis were still down by the gardens, looking lovingly at the flowers. Not realizing what had happened. Ascot was with Lanna. Arrow was here. You were all into it. You had no clue that somebody was even gone. That somebody wasn't there anymore."
Clef finally had the courage to look up. "But it didn't work, did it, Riana," he whispered. "There where still traces of Umi's emotions left all around Cephiro. She forgot to erase all of that. She just wanted us to forget HER, but she never said anything about the memories she made here. You were sloppy to not check on that, Riana." Riana's expression was changing to a fury face. Clef continued talking. "She had left a memory on the purin. A flower she told everybody she loved so much. She left a small feeling of rejection in Ascot, but remained as good friends, for all that she taught him. She left a small feeling of insult about my old, short image, which I find a bit humorous to this day. Her devotion to her friends to help them fight. She couldn't have been forgotten, Riana. We loved her too much."
Riana glared at Clef. That is why you wouldn't kiss me... I now know what your TRUE feelings are... she said to him, and sent to him what the accusation. Clef's eyes widened at the image that she gave him.
"That is not true," he whispered. "I don't-"
Riana laughed. "Now I am done explaining," she said, interrupting him. "And as you see I am now physically powerful, as well as mentally. That is why I was the pillar." She then waved her hand, and they were back at the beach. "I have power over all of you, including YOU," Riana said, turning to look at Hikaru. "You may be the new pillar, but you are inexperienced. You can't save Umi, nor will the rest of you be able to try to."
Hikaru saw red. Energy started to flow through her. "You dare..." she whispered. "You dare to tamper with Umi's mind?!" Hikaru held her hand out, pointing at Riana. "I won't let you get away with that..." she whispered deadly. Then, she shouted, "FIRE ARROW!!!" and let the power unleash.
Riana quickly floated up about a yard off the ground, and held her hand out. "SHIELD!!!" The arrows were quickly diminished. "How DARE you try to attack ME!"
"I won't let you get away with this!" Hikaru shouted. "Umi is my FRIEND!"
"You cannot be considered as her friend. If you were, then she wouldn't have felt this way in the first place. ADMIT it! You neglected your obligation to BE a friend!"
Fuu shook her head. "There are NO obligations to being a friend! It's not like a job! I, too, won't let you get away with playing us all like this!" she yelled, and held her hand, ready to strike. "GREEN TORNADO!!!" and let her wind go.
Riana flicked her hand, and the wind died down. "If the PILLAR could not attack me, what makes you think YOU had a chance?! I-"
=So you... so you LIED to me...= The voice riveted in all of their minds.
Riana gasped, and held her hand. "No," she whispered.
=I trusted you. I wouldn't have cared it you were Riana. In fact, if you told me, I would've worked HARDER to get you out. So you could be with Clef once more. But you... LIED to me.=
Clef turned to stare at the ocean. "Umi?" he whispered. The form had started to hover some more again. Now, the figure was becoming more distinctive.
"No!" Riana whispered. "I'll KILL YOU before you have a CHANCE to come back!" she yelled, and turned to the ocean.
"No, you won't!" Ascot yelled, and grabbed a hold of her arm. "You are NOT hurting Umi again!"
Riana glared at him. "LET ME GO!!" she yelled, and a burst of power blasted Ascot back about twenty feet. Ascot groaned after he hit the dirt, and then, he fainted.
"I'll get her!" Ferio shouted. "This time, NO MORE!!!" he yelled, and ran to her with his sword out.
"YOU FOOL!" she yelled, and held her hand out. Black energy shot out at Ferio, and he fell.
=Do you think that I will let you kill me now?=
"Umi!" Hikaru yelled.
"You can't fight me!" Riana yelled, turning back around to face the ocean. "It was because me that this fantasy even HAPPENED! Your will wouldn't have been able to do anything CLOSE to this!"
=You won't get away with this. I won't let you hurt my friends anymore.= The body stopped floating around. Instead, it stood straight up in the air, still enveloped by the beam of light. The body turned, facing the group, and then, lifted an arm up.
"As if YOU can do ANYTHING to me!" she retorted. "Try and attack me! I'll hurt you before your attack can even FAZE me!"
=It won't even have to touch you...= Suddenly, a large ice spike appeared out of her hand. =If I had never let you talk me into this, then all this would've never happened, of course. You had to use me in order to get all this to happen. I wish you just asked me to bring you back for Clef... But you lied to me. You-=
"What is your POINT?!"
=-lied to all of us. And besides that, you hurt my friends. And since I was a part of this, that means that I am also responsible for this. Ascot... and Lanna. I should've never wished for that. I should've let Ascot find somebody by himself.=
"GET TO YOUR POINT!" she hollered. "If you are going to try to strike me, I dare you to do it now! Let me give you a chance to kill me before I kill you!"
=I should've let Fuu and Hikaru's emotions towards Ferio and Lantis grow naturally. If there are problems during those times, then so be it. I shouldn't have tried to make them be happy forever. That is my own fault. So, since it is my fault, it is my duty to fix it all. Once... and for all...= And then, the spike was pointed at Riana, being held by both hands.
Clef stared at this stance, and his eyes widened. "NO!" he whispered. "NO! Hikaru! Fuu! Get that spike out of her hands!" he yelled.
Fuu and Hikaru turned to look at Clef. "What?!" Hikaru asked.
=You'll go... along with the fantasy. Everything will become real once more. Without me, this wouldn't have happened. Without me, you couldn't have been able to do this.= The spike was held out at arm's length. =You'll leave... along with me!= And with that thought, she thrust the spike right at her own self.
Riana's eyes widened. "NO!!!!" she shrieked. She looked down at her body. Right on cue, it was starting to fade away. She looked back up at the girl, anger and disbelief in her eyes. "You FOOL!!! You'd give up your own life to kill ME?!"
=If... If I didn't...= the thought seemed forced. =You would've... hurt them... some more...=
The beam of blue light was dying down, fading away. The body floated down, landing softly in the water.
Clef stared at Riana. "Riana..." he whispered.
Riana turned to look at him. She had stopped yelling, a look of utter hopelessness on her face. "You gave me up..." she whispered. "How could you not love me?!"
Clef shook his head. "You are not the Riana I knew. You're not her."
Riana stared at him, and tears flowed out. "I... You couldn't love me... If... If..." Riana had faded away, not being able to finish her sentence. She had disappeared.
"Oh, no! Umi!" Hikaru yelled, tearing her eyes away from Riana.
Clef's eyes widened at Hikaru's outburst, and remembered that Umi was in bad condition. He, Hikaru, and Fuu left Riana to fade away. They quickly ran to the water, to where Umi was floating. Instead of the dress she wore when she disappeared, she was wearing a blue, silk dress.
Clef waded to her, the water reaching just below his thigh. He took a hold of Umi. The spike was in her chest, causing blood to flow onto her dress, and mixing with the water. Quickly, he pulled it out and threw it away.
"She's bleeding! Badly!" he informed the other two.
"I can use my magic-" Fuu started.
Clef held her back. "No! You don't understand, but you can't use your magic for this wound. It won't work, and it might worsen it. Don't use your magic for this."
Fuu slowly put her hand back down.
"I have to bring her into the castle," he told them, and picked her up. "You wake the rest of them. They should remember everything. Riana should have linked their minds to ours. I have to find a way to heal Umi."
The two girls nodded, and ran back to the beach. Clef quickly brought Umi back into the castle.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Am I dying now? Haha... In the beginning, I just tried made myself go away. To disappear. To have them forget. No. Not forget. I didn't do it, either. SHE did it.
This hurts... Well, of course. What do you expect when you strike yourself at full force with a spike of ice?
Ohh... it's so cold...
But at least... they're all safe again.
"Umi..."
*~*~*~*~*~*
"How is she?" Hikaru whispered.
Clef shook his head. "The blood isn't coming out as much, but... she's getting colder. You see her shiver?" he asked.
Hikaru nodded. "I don't want her to die..." she whispered. Lantis was holding onto her as they looked down at Umi's pale face.
"It's all my fault..." Fuu whispered, holding onto Ferio. "I shouldn't have left her alone all the time."
"That goes for me, too," Hikaru said.
Presea walked up to kneel next to Umi, leaving Eagle to stand by himself. "Please, Umi..." she said, taking her hand. "Please wake up..."
"If Riana is gone," Clef said. "Then she must've REALLY done a lot of damage to herself."
Ascot stared at her. "She looks so... helpless..." he whispered.
Ascot stared at her. "She looks so... helpless..." he whispered.
"She shouldn't have done that," Caldina said, with La Farga comforting her. "We should've been there for her..."
Clef shook his head. It's my fault. I should have never told her about Riana. If she didn't know about her, then it would've been less pressure on her to do what she did. I need her to come back. Clef realized. She can't die on me...
"I think we should go," Presea whispered. "At least, we should leave her here for a couple of minutes, and have us collect our own thoughts on this..."
The rest of them nodded. "I will be there in a moment," Clef said. Presea nodded, and walked out with the rest of them.
After they were gone, Clef sat down next to Umi, and closed his eyes. And then, he took her hand, and called to her. Umi...
*~*~*~*~*~*
"Umi..."
Umi looked around in her mind. She was sitting down, cuddling herself. There, her eyes widened.
"Clef?"
Clef nodded, and walked to her. "Please, Umi," he whispered in a begging voice, looking down at her. "Don't die."
Umi shivered, and looked up at him. "It's so cold... I can't warm up."
"Please, Umi..." he said softly. "How can you just leave us here?"
"I... I deserve to die," she said. "I caused you all so much pain..."
Clef knelt down next to her. "You wanted us to be happy. We don't blame you for your actions, Umi. Riana was encouraging your thoughts. Giving you ideas."
Umi shook her head, and in her mind, she started to cry. "I wanted it to happen. I wanted to do it for you all... I wanted you to love again. With Riana. These actions," she whispered. "They were my own."
"Do you really think that after all these centuries, I would still love Riana?"
"You told me that you didn't love anybody after her. And right now, you still don't."
Clef took a hold of Umi's hands, and held them together with his. "Umi..." he whispered. "Look up at me."
Umi slowly lifted her head up, tears still streaming down.
"What do you see in me?" he asked.
"You are Clef. You were short once," she said plainly, giggling a bit.
"Oh, no..." he whispered. "You're starting to leave. Umi..."
She shivered once more. "I'm getting colder," she whispered.
"What do you see in me?!" he demanded.
Umi's eyes widened. "Why?" she whispered.
Clef's eyes turned to pain. "You know what I am talking about, Umi. You heard it. I know you heard what Riana said... About me. About who I love."
Umi shook her head, now trying to not look into his eyes. "I didn't hear a thing about what she said," she stated.
"Umi-" he started.
"I didn't hear anything!" she insisted.
"I don't care what you say, Umi!" Clef yelled, now taking her shoulders. "LOOK AT ME!" he ordered.
Umi's eyes looked at his face, shocked at the sound of his voice.
Before she could look away, Clef quickly said, "How can you die on us?! How can you even THINK about leaving us here all alone?! Without you... Without you..."
"I don't deserve ANYTHING from you guys..." she whispered.
"It doesn't MATTER what you think you deserve! We won't let you kill yourself! You can't leave us here, Umi. You can't leave ME here... By myself..." he whispered the last part.
Umi's eyes widened, and stared up at him.
Clef backed up, and then, held his hand out. "Come back, Umi. Please..."
Umi stared at him, her mouth partly opened in shock. "Clef..." she whispered.
"Umi... You can't leave us. Not now..."
After a long silence in that position, Umi sat up. "I..." she whispered, and took his hand. "I understand..."
*~*~*~*~*~*
Clef opened his eyes. He had fallen asleep.
"Clef..."
Clef looked up. "Huh?" he asked dully. Then, he saw that Fuu was staring down at him.
"You fell asleep, Clef," she told him softly, "so we didn't bother you. And besides that, your hand wouldn't let go of Umi's. We thought you were doing something..." Suddenly, Fuu stopped talking. She was staring at Umi. "Oh, my God," she whispered.
Clef looked up. "What is it?" he asked, and looked at Umi. She was sleeping peacefully. The blood had stopped flowing, and she was breathing regularly.
"Look," Fuu said. "She's breathing at regular pace now..."
Clef sat up, and stared at the sleeping Umi. Then, he smiled grimly.
*~*~*~*~*~*
"Ugh..." Umi groaned. She slowly opened her eyes, and realized somebody was staring down at her.
"Umi?" the person asked.
Umi groaned. "Who is it?" she asked.
"It's Fuu. Umi, can you see?" she questioned softly.
"It's kinda blurry..." she mumbled. Then, suddenly, her eyes widened. "Oh, my God," she whispered, and sat up so quickly that it hurt her chest and shocked Fuu. "This isn't happening to me," she gasped, still in pain.
Fuu stared at Umi. "Umi, what's wrong?" she asked, looking at her. "Are you feeling pain?"
"When I hurt myself like that, it's kind of no wonder that I do, Fuu," she said. And then, Umi looked around, and was relieved to see the lavender hair guru wasn't here. She then turned back to Fuu. "I want to go home," she stated.
"WHAT?!" Fuu asked, shocked.
"I want to leave. I want to leave NOW!" she demanded. "I'm not staying here any longer."
Fuu stared at Umi. "But..." she whispered. "Why? Why do you want to leave now? Everybody is really worried about you," she told her. "Don't you at least want to show everybody that you are a bit well?"
Umi shook her head. "Get Hikaru here. I want to leave this instance."
"But... we can't," Fuu argued. "We have time left in our..."
"I'm not staying!" Umi said stubbornly, but also sounded quite determined at the same time. "I am NOT STAYING!!!!" she yelled.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light that enveloped the room.
"UMI!" Fuu yelled. After the flash finally decreased into nothing, Fuu saw that she was still in Umi's room. With Umi's stuff. But without an Umi there...
"Uh... oh..." Fuu squeaked.
*~*~*~*~*~*
*curses loudly* DAMN!! I just realized that I left an entire SECTION out of this chapter, and I had to fix it and upload it again. How? I would NOT know! SO ANGRY!!! *breathes slowly to calm self down* Okay. Just thinking about all the threats I know I'm going to get. ^_^ Hehe. Well... SEE YA!!! *hightails it outta there*
