Yubaba flew as fast as she could. She wanted to get away from that Imperial Palace as soon as possible. Ugh! The very thought of it made the old witch's heart beat twice as fast inside her chest. "I can't believe I got out of this alive," she muttered sourly under her breath, looking to the right and left of her frantically.

"Not so fast there, witch," an eerie voice spoke. Yubaba just flapped her wings but didn't go anywhere as she slowly turned around to face it.

"So you went to the Lady's, hmm?" murmured the Dark Spirit calmly. Too calmly for Yubaba's taste. What was that idiom again? Oh, right. The calm before the storm. The mere thought of the upcoming "storm" made Yubaba tremble with fear.

"It were orders," the witch croaked out meekly, not daring to make eye contact with the Dark Spirit.

"Orders," the Dark Spirit repeated, a ring of sarcasm ringing in its voice. "I believe I made it quite clear to you that you are to obey nobody's orders but mine."

"I couldn't ignore this!" Yubaba wailed hopelessly, wracking her brains for a plausible explanation that would satisfy the creature. "It was an invitation to the Imperial Palace! It didn't say the reason!"

"No excuses from you," the Dark Spirit snapped. "You went there, you'll pay for it. Follow me, if you want your baby unharmed."

Yubaba gulped and nodded hastily, though her pride burned with insult. She never cowered in front of anybody in her entire life before. The thought that Zeniba (her sister which she simply hated) would never bend down to somebody as evil as this creature hurt Yubaba's pride even more. Yet, she was simply too afraid for her baby. Deep, deep inside, Yubaba knew that this whole mess was her fault and entirely her fault.

But she would never admit that.

Yubaba followed the Dark Spirit inside a dark, dripping cave. Once landed, both of the spirits turned into their natural forms. "Now tell me more about the Lady and her plans. Valuable news, mind you."

"W-war," came the reply.

"War?!"

"Yes," Yubaba nodded. "War. She is preparing for a war."

The Dark Spirit regarded the witch with its red, beady eyes as if trying to burn a hole in her head. "When?"

"I don't know ... honestly," Yubaba whispered.

"Anything else you can tell me?" it demanded.

Yubaba shook her head dryly. If there was one thing she couldn't afford, it was for the Dark Spirit to find out that the Lady's son was alive. There was never a worst punishment for a mother than to see her child being hurt; and the Dark Spirit knew it just too well. And surely, Yubaba would get that "worst punishment" not just for disobeying such an important order but also for keeping it a secret for a thousand years.

"Go back to your bathhouse," the Dark Spirit ordered, waving a hand carelessly.

Yubaba bowed her head slightly, backing off cautiously. "A-all right," she stammered. The idea that the great Yubaba would ever bend down to anyone's will was absurd; but here she was, not the fearsome, horrid witch that everybody knew her by. She looked more like a frightened, helpless child in the Dark Spirit's presence. Yubaba dashed out of the cave all too eagerly, disappearing in the dark sky that was breaking with the first signs of dawn.

"That stupid, weak woman! Does she really think she can defeat me?" the Dark Spirit stuttered. A wicked smile came to its face, and it roared with laughter as desire for battle swelled inside of him. "If a war is what she wants ... a war is exactly what she'll get."

Chihiro was soaring through a blue sky, looking down on the sea and a train zipping through it with awe. Her parents were at her sides, clasping her hands warmly, smiling joyfully at their daughter. Chihiro looked up and saw that her parents were ... quite young. A little more inspection and the girl realized that her parents looked exactly like they did eight years ago, when her first encounter with the Spirit World happened.

That moment seemed so perfect. Joy bubbled inside Chihiro's chest until she was forced to laugh it out. Mr. and Mrs. Ogino began to laugh along, making Chihiro smile so big that her cheeks hurt. That moment seemed so ... perfect. The idea that Chihiro lived in the Spirit Realm with her parents and friends seemed so ... right. Really, it was the only thing Chihiro wanted. She didn't want this moment to end as her parents enveloped her in a warm hug.

"Miss ... miss!"

"Mommy, daddy ... don't leave me," Chihiro whispered. She felt as if being pulled out of this wonderful fantasy as that strange voice called her.

"We'll never leave you, dear," Mrs. Ogino soothed as she kissed the girl's forehead.

"Daddy's here," Mr. Ogino added, tightening his hold.

"Miss ... miss!"

Chihiro frowned, trying to block out that annoying voice. Who dares try to interrupt the haven of this moment?

"Miss!" the voice repeated, more impatient and demanding. Chihiro did her best to block it out and to concentrate on the bright smiles of her parents, the cool air, the warm embrace ... anything!

"MISS!"

Chihiro woke up with a gasp. Where was she? Where was her mom ... her dad? Chihiro looked around and recognized that she was inside the train.

Her happy parents by her side ... it was all a dream. Chihiro blinked sleepily at the train worker in front of her.

"Miss, your stop!" the worker cried.

Chihiro felt her eyes brim with hot tears. "Y-yes, th-thank you for waking me," she murmured, casting her eyes downcast so the worker wouldn't see her cry. The wonder she just experienced was a dream, a mere dream made by her imagination. Nothing more.

"Of course," the train worker said with a smile, stepping aside. Chihiro left the train hastily and watched it leave, a bit wistfully, until it appeared as a mere black speck in the distance.

She shuddered for the umpteenth time as she wrapped her cloak more tightly around her shoulders, trying to mentally block out the seeping cold. If it was useless before, then it was like wearing a shirt in the snow and hoped that it somehow would keep you warm. The cloak wasn't bad; it was just too cold.

"Better hurry," Chihiro thought out loud to herself and jogged down the path. By the time she arrived at Zeniba's cottage, her lips were blue and she was shivering uncontrollably from the unpleasant weather. Chihiro ran her hands over her arms in hopes of preserving her body heat as she walked up to the cozy cottage.

What if it isn't safe to enter, she mused. With those monsters on the loose - suppose if they have plans of invading houses?

So Chihiro decided to make sure that it was safe to enter before walking in. She knelt by the open window and listened for anything suspicious.

"Whatever happens, No-Face, we must be strong," Zeniba told the shadow spirit sympathetically with a sad smile. "It is just the way things are. It's fate."

No-Face sighed and a moment of uneasy silence followed before Zeniba spoke up again.

"Frankly speaking, No-Face, you know that all of us are going to die."

Chihiro gasped, her face draining of all color.

"Anybody who doesn't go over to the Dark Spirit's side will be killed," the kind witch continued. "The Abyss served as a temporarily prison for that devil; but now, it will be as useless as everything else since the Dark Spirit knows how to escape it. There's no spirit in the land that can defeat it. Only a human can kill it; and that human will die himself. And which human will give up his life for a world that isn't even his? Nobody cares for us."

No-Face grunted in disagreement, cocking his head to his side as if he didn't believe Zeniba.

"Chihiro? What about her?" Zeniba snapped. "It isn't her problem and she shouldn't give up her youthful life for somebody who are hundreds - if not thousands - of years older than her. My granddaughter can do whatever she pleases in her world, but not here. Have you forgotten that the human who kills the Dark Spirit will die?" The last sentence came out as a warning hiss.

No-Face shook his head furiously, grunting loudly. Zeniba sighed, clasping her hands together.

"I'm sorry, No-Face. I know that you didn't mean for Chihiro to die for us. Of course you meant that somebody does care for us. Now, how about some tea?" Zeniba rose from her seat and walked gracefully to the kitchen, putting the kettle to boil.

Chihiro heard every word spoken. Her palm was pressed tightly against her lips to prevent herself from sobbing and getting herself discovered. Tears streamed down her face. "Frankly speaking, No-Face, you know that all of us are going to die." Those words hunted Chihiro like a disease that gripped her fragile heart and wouldn't let go.

Angry storm clouds covered the blueness of the sky and rain began to pour. Chihiro yelped, throwing the cloak over her head as she pressed herself against the wall. All thoughts of pneumonia and getting sick from the rain fled the young girl's mind as she stared blankly ahead, her hands balled into fists.

Everything fell together and made perfect sense. It was oddly similar to a jigsaw puzzle; the pieces by themselves would confuse you, since they represented only a tiny fraction of the actual picture. But once put together, you would look down and say, "Of course! Now everything makes sense."

Chihiro understood everything as all the events fell together and made the entire situation clear to her; indeed, like a jigsaw puzzle. She understood why the Dark Spirit - that power thirsty beast - wanted to kill her. She understood why Haku and Zeniba avoided answering her question, "is there anything I can do to help" and she most most certainly understood why Haku acted so ... so sadly before she left.

But most of all, Chihiro understood what she was going to do next. Casting a secret glance towards Zeniba and No-Face (who were completely oblivious to her arrival), Chihiro ran over to the train station and waited for a train to come. Eventually, one appeared and stopped for the girl. "Excuse me, but I need to go to the Imperial Palace. Will your train take me there?" Chihiro inquired of a shadow spirit, who was working on the train. The worker nodded and outstretched a demanding hand. Chihiro handed over a train ticket to him and said, "will you please wake me, if I fall asleep, when we get to the Imperial Palace?"

The worker nodded.

"Thank you," Chihiro breathed. From her past experiences in this mythical world, the girl knew that by far not all spirits were friendly and generous towards her kind. The worker nodded as if to say, "just doing my job" and stepped aside as Chihiro boarded the train hastily. For a moment, she regretted not going to Zeniba's.

It was then that she remembered her dream. Chihiro sat down on a bench and, taking out her notepad and pencil from her purse, wrote down something on the paper. It read:

Dear mother and father,

I really hate to say this, but this is the goodbye! My friends are in danger of death and I ... I just couldn't leave them. Only a human could help, and I was the only human willing to do that. Basically, this help "coasted" me my life. I'm very, very sorry. I didn't want to do this. But if I didn't, Haku and everybody else would have died. I love you all very much! Please don't cry; even if you won't see me, I will always be with you.

Your daughter,

Chihiro

Chihiro knew what she was doing. The mere thought of her weeping parents made the girl cry herself. But her parents, after all, would be all right. No words can describe what a mother feels when her child is hurt; but time heals. Her parents weren't the one in life-threatening danger! Haku, Granny, Lin, Kamaji ...they were, not mentioning every other spirit that had would refuse to bend down to that Dark Spirit. Chihiro knew that if she left, her conscious wouldn't give her rest as she would imagine - no, scratch that, know that some people very dear to her are dead and she could have prevented it; but decided to save her own life instead.

The girl had no idea what was awaiting her, and how she was to defy the most powerful force in the Spirit Realm. But whatever it is, Chihiro thought as she wiped away a tear, I will embrace it with open arms. Just like I said before.

Time seemed to crawl at a snail's speed and eventually Chihiro fell asleep. She didn't even notice that she unexpectedly went dry and that she wasn't sick after being out in the rain. The train worker glanced at Chihiro's tear-stained face pitifully before going back to his work with a wistful sigh.

Thank you to everybody who read my last chapter, and huge thanks to "AlyonaKK1" for reviewing it! The last few days were very tiresome and busy for me; and because of that, I cannot guarantee when I will put on Chapter 11 but please wait for me. I will get to it as soon as I can. Remember, best is still to come! In the meanwhile, read and review! 'Till next update! :)