"Layla…" called a gentle voice in the darkness.

"Layla…" it repeated, this time louder.

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light. It faded as quickly as it had appeared. In its wake, the rustling of the wind blowing through the trees began to sound.

"Layla…" the voice called out yet again, but this time with an alluring lilt.

The bright light flashed again in the horizon, and the wind picked up and began to howl its rage.

"I found you." The voice giggled.

Soon, light and sound took over, increasing to a point where all haze lifted and reality came into focus as Layla finally woke up. Her body naturally gasped for air as if it had been held under water for much too long.

Lying there in a daze on the ground, Layla could hear her heartbeat thumping loudly in her ears. Along with the awareness of her surroundings settling in, the broken images of her fateful journey began to appear, until her mind put all the pieces together, and the memory played itself behind her eyes.

Layla gasped for air again, as the vivid memory replayed itself over and over again, until she forced her eyes open. They caught focus and all she could see was a blinding light and a few dark spots that must have been trees. She felt the bumps of the hard earth on her back.

She tried moving her muscles, but they were unresponsive and felt numb, so all she could do was stare at the sun a bit longer.

Remembering how she calmed herself during performances, her body resigned control back to her. She groaned in displeasure as the pain made itself known in full force, her body's natural painkillers barely keeping her from fainting. She took deep breaths, trying to accustom her body to the pain that wouldn't recede no matter how hard she tried; there was no point in fighting it.

The bright sun was beginning to be too much for Layla, and she instinctively lifted her arm to block the light. It barely left the ground- it felt as if there was a colossal weight attached to it. She realized she must have been out several hours for her body to be this numb. She tried moving again, and could feel soreness on her back and a searing pain in her legs. Her legs, she remembered, were first to feel the hit of the jeep in mid-air, and at the time she only felt displaced and a slight bump, not the true force of the impact that only left a wake of unbearable pain.

Layla tried to command herself to get up, and by pure determination, she eventually did. She was able to sit up and lean against her right arm which gave her the least discomfort.

Looking around, she revisited her location. Parts of the old jeep lay to her left, with various items that were in it, scattered all around. Of the trees that she parked between, only one of them remained upright. At least there weren't any animals present. Turning her head a bit, Layla let out a gasp. There it was, the old beat up jeep was now lying upside down in an isolated pond of water- a testimony to the elephant's strength and anger.

You always have to go too far, don't you? Layla scolded herself. It was her own fault that she now found herself in this mess. Still, she was truly thankful to be alive. In terrible pain, but alive. However, now was no the time to chastise herself- she needed to get to safety. And to do that, she needed to walk, which was a problem in itself.

Layla bent her knees slowly, and managed to support half her body, the other half she supported with her two aching arms. She could barely feel one leg, and one foot wouldn't move under her command, but she hoped she could at least stand on it.

It was make or break time for Layla as she hurled herself onto her feet, and managed to keep her balance with extreme effort. While the first step was more than difficult, the second was encouraging. The third however, overshadowed both with searing pain, which caused the blond to lose concentration and she fell to the ground, facedown in the dirt. The pain she felt was the same when she had to separate from Sora after the climax of the Legendary Great Maneuver. While at that time she faced up to the pain, here she could not bear it with every step.

A feeling of helplessness started to wash over Layla. But the performer was not about to give up just yet, and dragged herself towards the one remaining tree. Even though the tree was only a few feet away, the crawl took an incredible amount of effort. Panting and leaning heavily against the trunk, she began to reassess her options.

As she was sitting there, Layla finally noticed the constant chirpings of the insects and the various calls of the birds around, which added to the already uncomfortable heat of the sun. All these things, plus being severely dehydrated, made it difficult for her to concentrate. The options, however, weren't too hard to come up with. She could either remain here like a sitting duck, and wait for help to arrive. Or she could try and find civilization herself, with the chance that the pain from her injuries would cause her to pass out, putting her in danger. No matter how she put it, she would be left open to the elements and the wildlife. With no viable option, Layla found the middle ground. She would remain put for some time and recover from the injuries just enough for her to make it across the plains.

This plan gave her new hope despite her weakened state. A simple splint she was confident she could make, maybe even find her water bottles and fill them with some water from the waterhole the jeep now bathed in. But as much as she wanted to get going, all she could do was wait for while.

After a bit, the pain in her legs began to fade into a throb, and the symphony of sounds didn't see to bother her as much. The only thing that was unbearable now was the bright sun, and despite the occasional cool breeze, she couldn't relax.

As Layla tried to calm down, a memory from her childhood surfaced as she took a peak at the sun. She remembered as a child, how fascinated she was with the sun, believing that the Phoenix resided within it. But she was never able to see it, so maybe it was never meant to be seen by her eyes. Something so beautiful and amazing, could never be seen by such a low person like herself. Where did she go wrong?

Layla quickly opened her eyes, catching how easily it was for her to drift off into sleep. She would not, could not fall asleep under any circumstances. It was too dangerous for even a nap. The moment she closed her eyes could be her last.

Suddenly a troubling thought came to Layla. When she raced to this place, she distinctly recalled the sun setting towards the mountains, but now the sun seemed farther away, like time reversed itself. But that was impossible. It didn't change the fact that sun wasn't where it should have been.

"That can't be right," murmured Layla, before it dawned upon her.

The sun was farther away from setting because the journey that she thought she had set out on today was actually yesterday. This meant that that she had been laying unconscious throughout the entire night and much of the day. It came as a shock at how long Layla had been vulnerable to anything and everything without her even knowing. In a way, she was given a second chance to live.

Her body however, would not give her the slightest relief as the pain set in again. Her foot was badly injured and probably broken, but now the heat was becoming unbearable and the surrounding noises seemed louder than before. The tree she was leaning against barely had any leaves, leaving no canopy between her and the blistering sun. If she had been there for a day, then it meant she was badly dehydrated and in need of sustenance, she couldn't even remember how long it was since she ate.

Instead of being worried, Layla was frustrated at her situation. Her foolishness had left her all alone and injured, and now she was immobile and unable to reach water that was just a few feet away. The longer she waited, the more her pain grew. Her plan didn't seem to be working at all because rather than gathering strength, she became progressively weaker from the heat exhaustion.

Layla was starting to drift off again, when she heard something from behind the tree. Gingerly, she turned her head just enough to glance behind her. Not surprised, but still disappointed, she didn't see anything there. Realizing what just happened, Layla summoned her strength; she would not be beaten. But as the minutes prolonged themselves into hours, she felt a critical moment was closing in. If she was going to get anywhere, she needed to get up now despite the pain that had not subsided one bit. Because in a short time, she knew she would be too weak to leave on her own. It was already difficult for her to concentrate on any one thing for a long period of time.

"Layla" that same gentle voice called out again, as if it were the climax of all the noises surrounding her. Layla flinched at the ghostly voice, and covered her ears to block it out and regain her focus. If she didn't leave at this moment, she would not just be terminally weak, but she would also lose her mind.

To her horror, the whispers returned, and that distinctly feminine voice that Layla dreaded to hear called out.

"Layla" it sang, accompanied by underlining mumbling.

"No!" Layla yelled out, unable to take it anymore, her hands still over her ears.

Instead of going away, the voice simply giggled at her silly attempt to block the noises.

Layla finally opened her eyes in an attempt to keep her sanity. When upon finally calming down, she realized the sun was no longer bright in the sky. Instead, the day was coming to a close, and in her tormented state, time had passed without her noticing. The heat was starting to fade, and the night air began to take over, giving the distressed blonde a bit of relief. This helped her regain coherence, and even the chirps of the insects seemed to have been toned down significantly.

The one thing that had been constant up to this point was the pain. It was still unbearable, and Layla was so weak that all she could do was let her useless limbs lay motionless next to her body. Soon her fingertips started losing circulation, so Layla tried clenching and unclenching her fists to get the feeling back into them.

The cold wind of the closing day made her shudder, and Layla realized it was too late. The critical moment where she should have pulled herself up and try to reach safety had long since passed. She had been too occupied by the pain and that voice. Without any energy, Layla's mind began to slip into a fatalism as dark as the night that was slowly creeping towards her, bringing only despair.

The sweat that had poured from the heat only helped to increase the bitter cold that was now sweeping the plains.

So now fully exposed to the elements, and barely coherent enough to not pass out, Layla Hamilton, who had defied death more than once, was for the first time in a very long time- afraid. Afraid that she might die alone, never to see the ones she cared and loved ever again.

The prospect of such a lonesome fate was the last piece to shatter the once strong and unbreakable former Kaleido Star. Tears started to flow in a whimper that was getting weaker and weaker.

And while Layla was alone and shivering from the cold with no hope and only pain, once again that voice giggled, beautiful and soft, yet piercing and mocking as it said once more,

"Layla…"

Thanks again to Falling Awake for the great proofreading job.

Sorry it took so long to update and it was also pretty short, but I hope to finish this story someday.