Prettyinpinkgal: Chapter Thirteen, and an unlucky chapter depending on how you look at it! This will be the final chapter of "Pretear: The Second Snowfall" with the exception of the epilogue. Please enjoy, and I hope you all had a merry Christmas and will have a wonderful New Year! The epilogue should be longer than this chapter, so not to worry about that ;) This chapter was enjoyable due to the fact that I decided to take Feral's point of view. I never really developed him as a character, (not that I really did with the other characters. Heh.) so I took this opportunity to make him both dangerous and a character you can pity. He has always been told he was the "dark" side of Kimoto, so he naturally grows in darkness due to that. It's the only way he can fit in.

Please enjoy the final chapter.

Disclaimer: See previous disclaimers.

PRETEAR: THE SECOND SNOWFALL

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE ENDING AND THE BEGINNING

It was snow.

Pure white, drifting all about.

But how?

How was it snowing inside the castle, not to mention the fact that this castle was in an alternate dimension in which there was no weather?

Feral felt a snowflake hit himself, and he gasped. It was leafe itself, the exact opposite of his life-draining red flakes.

How was this possible?

He turned his vision toward the doorway. He saw reminiscences of Fenra in the figure before him, yet she was so different. Her eyes were larger, more innocent. Her hair was short, and her gown and wings were pure and full. Perhaps the most significant difference was her smile--not of malice, but of kindness and goodness and sweetness.

"The White Pretear..." Feral whispered. He heard his other self whisper, "She did it. She's saved! Thank God!" "Silence," Feral commanded under his breath. Looking at the beauty before him, he asked, "Himeno, why? Why did you not submit yourself to darkness?"

Her grin widened. "It's too depressing," she explained, her voice chipper. "I wouldn't be me if I wasn't of light. Of course, everyone has a bit of darkness. We're all humans. No one's perfect. But the difference between me and you, Feral, is that I try to embrace the light. When I do that, my darkness fades a little bit. When someone embraces the darkness, their light dies, and they don't feel any joy. Aren't you tired of living that way?"

Feral grinned, but he silently acknowledged that most likely, he would not live much longer. "I am Kimoto's evil self. His darkness. He was born with too much of it to be able to simply embrace the light and push me away. It's not a matter of simply wanting to be evil. I am evil itself."

Himeno was silent for a moment as she considered this. "But you haven't tried to kill me yet. If you were purely evil, then you would have attacked me already. You haven't. There is also the matter that even your 'good' self--the true Kimoto--has a bit of darkness when he is just a human. If he is light but has a bit of darkness, then why can you not be darkness with light as well?"

Feral froze. As the snow continued to fall in the room, he absorbed more and more leafe. If things continued in this way, he would have enough leafe to fight Himeno and very possibly win. He would kill her, and, as she was in her Pretear state, all seven Knights in the process. It was perfect. Himeno didn't even consider this.

Yet he did not want to kill her.

She continued speaking. "Feral, you love me, don't you?" This had been an unspoken understanding between Fenra and Feral. Fenra had known he loved her only because she was part of Himeno. The snow danced around her as her short hair blew gently. "Love is perhaps one of the purest emotions out there. So you couldn't possibly be all bad. Please, change."

She reached out her hand.

Feral could almost see the warmth radiating from her small hand.

He needed only to reach out his own hand to be saved.

But...

A wave of energy surged out from his body, the magic attacking Himeno, causing her to slam against the wall.

"Do you understand?! I am a monster! I am evil itself!" Feral cried maniacally. "There is no goodness in me! You have lost, Pretear! Himeno, you're dea--!"

She had managed to sit up. She was badly beat up, yet she was smiling forgivingly at him.

Her eyes were so soft with emotion.

Her smile so welcoming.

Her hand was still outstretched.

"Don't you realize what I've done?! Himeno, you stupid--" Another attack. "Girl!" Attack. "There is!" Attack. "No!" Attack. "Saving!" Attack. "ME!!" An attack so strong, even the prepared Knights' barriers had failed.

Himeno whispered, "No, I have to save him. Feral and Kimoto." Those Knights must have been talking to her. "If I can just get close enough..." She winced and grabbed her arm. Feral looked in alarm as he saw blood ooze from her shoulder all the way to her elbow. It was proof. He was sinful enough to hurt this girl, this sweet, innocent beauty who had done nothing wrong. This girl that he felt himself loving, despite the instilled hate which lingered dangerously in his heart.

Agony swept through him. It was as Mother had said. "You make me so proud, Feral. Far prouder than I am of Kimoto. Your wickedness is outstanding." If that old hag was praising him, he must have been truly despicable.

Himeno walked towards Feral as he battled mentally with himself. To kill, or not to kill. To be saved, or not to be saved. To live, or not to live.

Suddenly, he felt Himeno hug him. She was weak, and she did not hug him very tightly, but she said, "It's alright. I'll set both you and Kimoto free."

Love grows stronger in the midst of hate.

Apparently, light grew stronger in the midst of darkness.