Marooned

By Dixxy

Chapter Thirteen

(Glenn)

I cried out in pain and anguish as Curtis sliced deep into my side. I fell to my knees, trying to stop the pain from the severe injury I'd just taken from my adversary. The man who had tormented me for fifteen years laughed, gazing at me in a sick form of amusement. "You know, boy, you are right. This battle IS over, but I don't think it's going to end the way you planned it." In what felt like slow motion, Curtis began to cast one final element. "ThundaStorm!"

NO! I thought to myself in horror. I didn't have the strength to stand up to an element that powerful in my current state. I was going to die, right before Leena's eyes! It wasn't supposed to be like this! I was supposed to rescue her! We were supposed to go back to Hermit's Hideaway together to wait for Serge and the others to find us! This can't be happening!

Do not worry. . . I would not let that happen. . .

I paused, unsure of where the voice in my head had come from.

The thundercloud above head was generating electricity. Electricity that was about to descend on me. How ironic. . . I thought to myself. The first element used on me was a Yellow element of the electric class and the last element that will be used on me is from the same class, cast by the same man. How very ironic indeed. . .

This isn't like last time- Dario is dead and Karsh can't possibly show up here now. Not even Norris is going to help me, I thought to myself miserably. Then I guess this is the end, isn't it? I'm going to die right here and now in this other world. There might not even be a body left.

Yes there will be!

The ThundaStorm began it's strike.

"Oh, sh-"

"You do not need to swear- you are safe."

I blinked, looking around. Instead of finding myself facing certain doom, I was floating in a vast nothingness. I panicked, not seeing anything beneath me or above me. I cried out, flapping about aimlessly as I tried to gain some sort of a foothold on something solid. But I found nothing. "Where am I?" Then, it dawned on me. "Ah! I'm dead!"

"No, you are not dead."

"Who's saying that?" I asked. "Show yourself! Who are you?"

"I am surprised you do not know. I am you."

I froze, then somehow managed to spin around. I gaped. There, floating before me, was, well, me. The same blonde hair and blue eyes I saw every morning in the mirror. The same armor plates and Dragoon equipment I had used before joining with Serge. The same tunic, the same pants, the same boots, and the same hair ribbons. "But, but how is that possible?"

The other me shook his head. "You already know where I came from."

I thought about this and nearly fainted. I knew EXACTLY who he was. "You, you are me from Serge's world!" I said in shock. My double only managed a weak smile. "The, the one who died in the, the Sea of Eden three years ago! You're just, just as much of a ghost as Curtis is!"

"You are correct," he said. "Ever since you came to this world with Serge for the first time, I have been watching you. Curious as to what I could have become, I suppose. To see where I might have gone in life. And, to be honest, I am not at all disappointed in what I saw- it was certainly better than death." His eyes darkened as he seemed to sigh. "It is a shame that we could not meet each other while we were both in the world of the living." He looked upwards, a sort of youthful sparkle in his eyes. I blinked, cocking my head to one side- I could see where he looked a little bit younger than me, but I've always looked younger than I actually am.

"Well. . . why are you here now?" I asked. I closed one eye and raised the opposite eyebrow in question. My counterpart gave me another childish smile, chuckling lightly as he watched me in interest. I shook my head. "Never mind that last question, because I have a better question. How about telling me WHERE are we? Then tell me why you brought us here. Or someone else brought us here."

"We are in a spirit world that does not exist. And, I am saving your life," said the other me.

I blinked. "What?"

"What would have happened to you if you had stayed where you were just a few moments ago?" he said. I looked down, thinking about where I had just come from- not much energy left, a psychopath ready to cast a powerful element on me, and my young girlfriend watching in terror. "You would've been killed."

"So you're keeping me here? Forever?" I asked.

The other me laughed. "No! Not at all!" he said, shaking his head. He cleared his throat and folded his arms. "You aren't strong enough to face down something like Curtis, especially not alone. If Leena had been fighting alongside of you then you might have had a chance, but he knew that he would have no trouble beating you in if he fought you alone at this point in time."

I lowered my head. "I'm too weak, is that what you're saying?"

"Right now, yes, you are too weak. But I'm giving you a second chance. Believe me- he'll try this again sometime in the future. When, I do not know, but he will try it again- that specter hates you and his hatred for you has allowed him to take these powers. That is where he gets all of his power- its pure hatred."

"Then. . . with all that power he has. . . he must REALLY hate me. . ."

"Of course- he blames you, or me, or, well, one of us, for his downfall," said my double. He stood. "Which is exactly WHY we are going to stall for time so you can train and get more powerful. Perhaps it would not be a bad idea to start practicing using your elements with more care and skill- study magic."

"Magic? But I'm a Dragoon- I spend most of my days training with my sword!"

"Yet even as your sword skill improves, has your magic skill not improved at least a little?" he said as he raised an eyebrow. "Marcy. She can fight well and use elements well, can she not? Talk with her- I am sure she will be willing to give you advice and help you advance those skills."

I sighed. "But I still don't understand how we're going to stall for time."

The other me shook his head. "Do not worry- I know exactly what to do."

"What?"

"It is not important what happens to me- what IS important is that you train and take him down for both of us," he said. He grinned. "Besides, I think Leena would be upset if you did not continue to show affections for her. She is very fond of you, and I know that you are very fond of her."

"Are you?" I asked.

My double shrugged. "Even if I was attracted to her, it would not matter," he said. "I am a ghost- this soul will never age past seventeen. Never complete his training as a Dragoon. Never, ever, ever even court a lady, much less marry one. After the General of my world led us to the Sea of Eden, our lives ended."

I lowered my eyes. "You're right," I said. "I, I usually tried not to think about it, but now that it's right here in my face I. . ." The other me shook his head. "It was just so strange to know that the, well, me, er, you, in Serge's world was dead- I never thought of myself that way before and it's a bit unsettling."

"I do not blame you for those words and they do not hurt me," he said. "Just promise me this, Glenn- take him down. For me. For both of our fathers. For your Dario, and for yourself." He straightened, giving me a nod. "Before I leave you, I just thought I should share something with you."

I blinked. "What? Do you mean. . . that. . . that Dario. . . is. . . alive?"

My younger self nodded. "My brother, the Dario of this world. . . his essence is not in the spirit world," he said. I gaped at him in shock and amazement. "I am absolutely sure that he is still apart of the living world in this reality. Find him. Not for me, for yourself. And Riddel, as well. You miss your own brother, do you not? Even if he is not the brother that you know, he is still Dario."

I shook my head in disbelief. "All right. I'll trust you that you know what you're ding, but I know that I need to see a psychiatrist as soon as this whole mess is over- between alternate realities and vengeful ghosts, I'm going to need a nice, long vacation far away from El Nido."

The other me nodded, chuckling. "Perhaps you will bring Leena with you?"

I gave my counterpart a joking look of disapproval. "No. Vows of chastity, girls whose tech skills rely on virginity and romantic vacations usually don't mix very well," I said. "Her mother would kill me, Viper would skin my carcass, and I just know that something else would rip my hide limb for limb."

The other my blinked. "My. . . you are not acting so polite and formal."

I scratched me head. "Um, well, Leena said that she wanted me to speak more casually so I-"

"You had better have the common sense to marry her someday," he said. I gaped in surprise as he smiled. "All right. I'm going to arrange it so that as Leena is sent back to the island, you'll be sent with her. Hopefully it will take a while for Curtis to rediscover you, but until then you must keep training. His one weakness is that you must go to him on your own, but he can use hostages to get you there. It could be Leena again, it could even be children if you become a parent by then. But he can and almost certainly will play this game again, and you won't get this second chance next time- use it wisely. Train hard. Talk with everyone you can talk with to get better, because you will need all the luck and help you can get your hands on. And I mean it."

"There's still one thing I don't understand- what are you doing in this?"

The other me stared blankly ahead. "I will take your place."

"What? NO!"

Then. . . nothing.

"Glenn! Glenn! GLENN! SPEAK TO ME! SPEAK TO ME! GLENN!"

Leena. . .

I groaned, slowly fluttering my eyes open. The first thing I saw was Leena, though she looked like she was upside-down. Eventually I realized she had my head and upper body in her lap, cradling what she had thought was my dead body. When she saw me waking up she went ballistic, tears streaming from her eyes in crystalline rivulets of joy. "Glenn! Glenn, oh Glenn, are you okay? Oh, Glenn, I thought you were dead and that you'd left me alone and that I'd never see you again and-"

I smiled. "It's all right, Leena. I think I'll be okay," I said weakly.

"What happened? I saw you die! I was so scared! You slumped over and said not to worry and you were dead and Curtis was laughing and I was crying and- oh Glenn!" Leena pulled me closer to her, sobbing hysterically into my shoulder. Carefully, I put an arm over her shoulder and closed my heads, trying to gain my own strength from her. I closed my eyes in an attempt to relax.

"It's a long story," I said. Leena hugged me tighter and I cried out in pain. Leena pulled away and looked me over. I was definitely alive, she could see that, but I was not in what I'd call perfect health. Most of the injuries from my battle with Curtis were still on my body and they hurt pretty badly. "Ow. . ." I said as I began wincing in pain. "Everything hurts."

"Can you stand?" she asked.

"I don't know," I said. "Why?"

"You need to get back to the tree house and rest up once I use a few Cures on you," she said. She placed a soft hand on my cheek, giving me a reassuring smile. "I'm glad you're all right. I don't know WHY you're all right, but it doesn't matter- as long as you're all right I could care less."

I bit my bottom lip. "The ghost of. . . me. . . from this world. . . took my place," I said. Leena looked at me with wide eyes. "I'm not sure how myself, but he brought me to this place that he said didn't exist, had a conversation with me, and took my place, right before the element would have hit. He, he sacrificed himself to save me! I mean he was already dead but his ghost existed but now there's nothing!"

Leena blinked in confusion, but nodded. "After everything's that happened, I'll believe it- I'm not sure what you just said, but I'll believe it, anyways," she said softly, running her fingers through my hair. She bent down to kiss me. I grinned, letting her know that I was going to be just fine without words. "I'm so glad you're all right! Oh, you don't know how scared I was!"

"I heard you screaming before the other me switched places with me," I said.

Leena shook her head. "Mmm hmm. Now, let's get you patched up. . ."

"Comfy?" she asked.

I nodded. Leena had given me her cot and, after hitting me with every CureAll, CurePlus, and Cure she had on her, prepared to play nursemaid. Because of the condition of my tunic (which wasn't very good), she'd given me a large mustard yellow smock she'd found and most of the pillows on the island, nearly smothering me in them in an effort to make me comfortable. She knelt down and touched my forehead, a happy yet concerned look in her eyes. "Feel better?"

"A little," I said, nodding. "Better than I felt, anyways."

"That's good," she said. She hugged me tightly, sniffling a little into my shoulder. I half-smiled, glad that she was concerned for me. Leena looked into my eyes and brushed some of my hair out of my face in a loving, gentle way that seemed to make everything "all better" all in one simple action. "Oh, I'm so glad you're all right."

"So am I," I said, returning the gesture. I kissed her, lifting a hand to the side of her face. "I wouldn't go down that easily, Leena. I promise you that." I held her hand, looking into her eyes. "I'd be a fool to let a girl like you go." Leena's eyes began to tear yet again as she held me tighter.

"Oh Glenn. . ."