Chapter 10

A voice was laughing at her. Riley tried to escape, but she was held immobile. Whose voice was that? It sounded so familiar! Abruptly, Riley remembered something she had repressed.

She was at her computer, humming along to "Minna no Tamago", procrastinating her homework. She had a five paragraph essay she really needed to get started on, but she had no idea what to do for it. Suddenly, she was struck by a monster headache. Her hands flew up to her head, eyes closing tight. The pain spread out, moving down her face, out her arms and throughout her body. She wanted to scream, the pain was that intense, but no sound would came out. Her vision whited out and she felt herself falling. There was a maniacal laughter, echoing throughout her being, and Riley knew it was somehow the source of this agony.

The Voice that had been laughing silences, and turned thoughtful. Riley had a feeling she should've passed out completely by now and the Voice felt safe in It's musings. 'So many eggs,' It murmured. Riley couldn't tell if it was a girl or a boy. It was too distorted by evil. 'Such beauty found in a broken dream,' It continued, cackling. Riley felt sick, a feeling that had nothing to do with the all over ache that was even now pulling her under into a deep sleep. 'I'll let the Guardians handle the rest of you. You're mine…'

Riley woke up harshly, gasping for air. Remnants of phantom pain radiated throughout her body. Were there more people like her, from another world? What had the Voice meant when it said let the Guardians handle the others? Riley knew that after hearing that, she had finally succumbed to darkness, only to awake at the school. If only she could have lasted a few more moments. Then maybe she'd have known.

Riley blew out a breath, knowing there was nothing she could do about it now. Turning her head, she looked at Yaya's bed to make sure she hadn't woken her. Glad her nightmare- night memory- hadn't woken the girl, Riley resumed her inspection of the ceiling. The tears came on suddenly, and she turned on her side, away from Yaya, and curled into a ball. She silently sobbed, letting the weight of the world crash down on her shoulders.

The dream only confirmed her suspicions. She was the cause of all those X-eggs. And it wasn't going to stop, not anytime soon. Not until they found the Voice, and put a stop to it. She wasn't only crying for the children, either. She had shed plenty tears for them during her week in Seiyo. Now, she cried also for her family, something she had yet to do. She had worried, of course, and pined, but those were selfish emotions, ones in which she thought only of how she wanted to see her family. The tainted tears falling over her cheeks now were for, yes, the children whose dreams were being played with by the maniacal Voice, but also for her family. Did time move differently back home? Had a week passed? A month? Years? Or was everything just as she had left it, unmoved? That was too much to hope for. How her family must be grieving.

Riley cried for a long time, during which she promised to not shed another tear until the Voice was stopped.

Eventually, she fell asleep.

Yaya stared at her wall, listening to her new friend's sobbing. Riley seemed to be in so much pain, but Yaya had no idea what to do for Ri-tan. The pear girl was really nice to Yaya, making her cookies and everything! But Yaya's baby character wasn't really good at giving the solace she often wanted. It wasn't in her character, at least not for the kind of comfort Yaya was sure Ri-tan needed. Sometimes, Yaya concluded, crying was the best way to feel better. Yaya didn't really like that plan, but some people didn't like others knowing they cry, and Yaya was right there. In the next bed. If Ri-tan needed her… she would have asked Yaya for help, right? Yaya squeezed her plush toy, curling her legs up. She lay in the darkness, listening worriedly to Ri-tan's crying. Though her eyes were heavy, she forced them to stay opened just in case Riley needed her.

As the minutes dragged on, Yaya wondered how they all become such fast friends. There wasn't much reason for it, it just kind of happened. Ri-tan came with her two chara to talk with the Guardians… and soon she was always showing up and she was just part of the group. It had only been a couple of weeks. Maybe that was why it was so easy to befriend her… she knew so much about them all. Yaya just liked her cookies at first. Yum. After a while, Riley went quiet and Yaya felt herself losing the battle against her eyes. It wasn't about the cookies anymore, Yaya thought as she drifted to sleep.

Pear girl= Ri (Japanese for pear according to behind the name). I wanted so bad to put that in here….

One silent reviewer, thank for your love :D