A light flickered somewhere up above. It was annoying. Surely I'm not the only one who gets distracted and irritated whenever a bulb goes through its final death throes like that. Worse still, it only served a reminder of how bad a condition I was in. The taste of something foul lingered in my mouth while cold sweat ran down my forehead, making my eyes itch. Arms and legs like dead-weights, I barely moved, despite the strong urge to do so and turn off that god damned light!

With a curse that sounded far less emphatic than was first intended I slowly sat up in what appeared to be one of the hotel's bedrooms. Having no recollection of how I got there, naturally there were a few questions swimming around in my mind.

But most pressing of all was the piercing pain in my side. The broken ribs that had been floating around in my flesh this whole time had surely caused substantial internal damage. Call it a hunch but I'm pretty sure that's the case...

Or maybe the hideous dark red stain under my skin counts as a clue.

Well that's definitely not good.

In fact I'd dare say that's life threateningly dangerous.

For once I'm not exaggerating...

The sharp biting pain in my side only brings back memories of the time Asakura had stabbed me on a cold winter morning. The very thought incites a wince and promptly I search for another avenue to divert my attention.

Ignoring the sheer agony involved in moving around I shuffle off the edge of the bed and stumble to the door. As cliché as it sounds, the door creaked open with an unholy screech. Without a doubt anyone would have heard that, not only on this floor but even those above and below (Assuming I'm up a floor or two...)

A head peeks round a corner and I meet Yui's gaze. She flashes a brilliantly bright smile as she bounds towards me like an excited puppy. Had she a tail it would have been wagging like crazy.

"You're awake!" she chirps with a cheerfulness that belies the seriousness of the situation. But I suppose it's alright. Anything to take my mind off the fact that I'm gradually slipping out of consciousness again. I nod wearily at her words and try my best to stand up straight.

"Azu-nyan is in that room over there," she explains, pointing a slender finger in the direction of a door just up the hall. "Mugi-Chan is already here too! She's in that room!" she points to the room across from mine. "I was in there," she points to the door to the left of Mugi's, "and so far Rit-chan and Mio-Chan haven't turned up!"

"Have you searched the rooms?"

Yui's smile stiffens at that and she begins to avert her gaze. "Um..."

"Yui." I say sternly.

"I'm sorry! There was a big commotion with you and Azu-nyan and I got distracted! Plus Mugi-chan brought cake!"

…

Well Mugi really is resourceful. Even when stranded all alone in a mysterious and scary alternate dimension she still managed to go out and get cake for everyone. That kind of determination deserves a round of applause, but it's best for me not to exert too much energy in my sad state.

"Is she alright?" I asked, though it probably goes without saying that she would be if she brought cake.

"Mugi-chan is perfectly fine! She doesn't even have any dirt on her clothes! Aww, my shirt is all dusty!" Yui picked at her clothes with a distasteful frown. Even so her voice remained as bubbly as ever as she complained. I don't know whether or not she is genuinely upset by that.

"Right, well at least everyone here is okay. We just need to find Ritsu and Mio and we'll be fine."

"Hmm..." Yui stared at me with an unusual intensity.

"What?"

She perked up just as suddenly and raised a questioning finger. "I've been wondering for a while now...You keep saying that only you, me, Mio-chan, Rit-chan, Mugi-chan and Azu-nyan are stuck here...But what about everybody else? There were lots of people around before we ended up here. What about your friends?"

Dammit she's sharp. How can she keep seeing through my facades without so much as the slightest effort? This isn't good. The more they ask for the answers the more pressure on me to: A – Give them answers, and B – Understand the situation well enough myself to actually provide said answers.

Therein lies the problem.

It was impossible to meet her gaze then so I turned aside and spoke to the wall, "...Never mind that for now. I'll explain another time."

It goes without saying she wasn't satisfied with that answer, but it seems she knew she wouldn't be able to pry it out of me right now. With a shrug she let the subject drop and pretended she had never asked it in the first place.

That's one crisis averted...

However, something else had begun to dawn on me just as the faint light of hope had begun to rise. Yes we were beginning to regroup and when we find Mio and Ritsu we'll all be gathered together again. But the real issue is, how are we going to get out of here? I mean it's not like this is a game and after finding the items and allies the level is cleared. Meeting up won't get us out of here.

Somehow that concept had eluded me earlier...

Now I was even more worried that I was the expert in here. I'm a terrible inter-dimensional Sherpa. Even if we set up camp, I don't know how to get to the summit.

Damn!

Why didn't I think of this sooner? As in, long before I got us sent here in the first place. Well that certainly puts a damper on things. Not only that my increasingly fervent desire for medical attention apparently won't be satiated for some time yet.

I don't know how much longer I can bear with it like this...

"Hey, Yui, is there a medical bay here?"

She made an odd smile for a moment that was quickly over-ridden by guilt. She glanced down at my side, knowing full well what I was about to say.

"I'm sorry...I don't think so. But if we hurry we can get you to the hospital!"

I wave my hand, "No, it's too risky going outside again. Besides we still need to find Mio. We should search the rooms quickly. In the meantime Azusa and Mugi can guard the entrance in case Ritsu arrives."

"But..." Yui makes to argue only to trail off. Why bother when the one you're trying to argue with wanders off without a second glance? It's not that I don't want to hear her out. Frankly her concerns are quite comforting and at least prove that there is more inside of that brain than cake, tea and sweets. Of course that sentiment resides deep within my subconscious for fears that to voice such thoughts might destroy the fragile balance within her head and drive her truly insane.

Though from what I can gather she isn't as frail as an autumn leaf anymore. Her outward appearance and utterly childish behaviour betray a much more mature side hibernating within.

But idle thoughts are indeed distracting and unfortunately time is pressing. If I can at least round up the rest of the group then maybe I can focus a little more on our escape plan. If only I'd dragged Koizumi into this mess. Why couldn't he have flirted with the girls more? Or taken piano lessons with Mugi?

…

Wait a minute!

I haven't seen or heard from the SOS Brigade at all! Every other time something like this has happened they would send some kind of sign or drop a hint or...You know...Something! Even when the world was literally at breaking point Koizumi still managed to drop on by. And Nagato was able to hack into the computer. Why aren't they rushing in to save me?

Don't tell me my little stunt has left me out in the cold! Surely they wouldn't just leave me here! As much as Haruhi is ticked off with me right now she simply can't cope without my presence, or so it should seem if Koizumi's scrambled nonsense is to be believed.

Ugh! Words can't express how much I botched this rescue mission. I practically jumped straight into stormy seas without tying a safety line for myself.

Now I need rescuing as much as the ones I had intended to save!

It is some consolation to know that there aren't many people around to see this. Such spectacular failures shouldn't even be possible. They should only exist in the realm of manga and anime, not real life! Is it even possible to live down such shame?

Well maybe if I perchance upon a miracle there will be some redemption. Yeah, let's just run with that one for a while until I come up with something better...

In the meantime, I began searching the rooms on the third floor. This was where our rooms were originally and my gut feeling (the one that wasn't agonising pain) urged me to search there. First up was Nagato's room. The door wasn't locked, nor did it make even the slightest sound as it swung open to reveal the darkness beyond. Out of habit I tried the lights only to curse quietly and rejoice in the fact that no-one was around to see that.

The room was as empty as Nagato's room in her own apartment. It was so bland and functional I almost swore I was back at her place drinking plain tea in silence. Nothing but memories buried in that one...

I gently closed the door and shuffled over to the next door. This was Koizumi and Haruhi's room. The door was locked. Figures. Well I doubt she's in there. Mio wouldn't dare go in any rooms that weren't shared by her closest friends. Even in this crazy sealed off world I can't honestly imagine her doing anything but that.

Thankfully, that narrowed down the number of rooms I'd have to search.

After a lot of stumbling around aimlessly I found the first of the two rooms the girls had taken. If I remember right, the door on the left was for Mugi and Mio and the door on the right housed Azusa, Ritsu and Yui. I tried the latter room first, simply to get it out of the way. I wasn't surprised to find no-one inside, but the mess on the floor was certainly odd. The clothes strewn across the floor looked like they had just been thrown off. The beds, unmade looked as if their residents had only just gotten up an hour ago.

Out of curiosity I placed a hand on the nearest bed. It was still warm as if someone had been sleeping right there up until I had just entered. The sudden warmth struck me and I staggered back, stunned. Everything in closed space just looks so cold. To actually feel anything different is strange.

Well, there's nothing more to glean from this one.

I approached Mio's room and knocked on the door. I hadn't done it with any of the others, but then I wasn't exactly expecting a reply anyway so what would be the point? I leaned forward, ear pressed against the door, straining to hear a response.

A couple of seconds passed.

Nothing at all.

I figured I'd knock again.

Even greater silence.

Well here goes nothing...

I threw myself at the door and it shot inwards, leaving my body to tumble forward and crash against the floor with a horrendously loud thud. The resounding thud from my fall echoed endlessly down the hall. Needless to say I was blushing like a fool.

After all that, I scoured the room and not a single sign of Mio was found. I grit my teeth and limped back out into the hall, scratching my head with one hand and massaging my bruised side with the other.

Where the Hell did she go?! She couldn't have run off, surely? The Mio I know is scared enough of her own shadow, let alone a bunch of marauding blue giants that have a knack for knocking down buildings.

This is the right place right? She should be in this dimension. All the closed spaces should have combined into this giant one. That's what Koizumi said would happen. Don't tell me she's still trapped out there in yet another different dimension?!

God, can things get any worse?

With a dejected sigh I dragged myself back down the hall to my own room. The whole way there I half rolled along the wall for support. My legs were beginning to give. I don't think I'll be able to move much further once I reach my room.

I should be conserving energy, but I don't care anymore. I've screwed up worse than ever before. I've brought about the destruction of an entire city, endangered the entire world and lost half of my best friends in the process. If this were a gal-game I'd be stuck on the route to the bad ending. Clearly I had messed this up. Big time.

Exhausted, depressed, anxious, pained (and a whole lot of other nasty sounding emotions), I fell against the door to my room and clenched the handle between shaking hands. Thankfully it wasn't locked either but the momentum of the swinging door carried me with it and I stumbled through into the dark. Unable to stop myself I threw myself onto the bed which creaked and rattled under the strain.

Somehow it made a shrill squeaking noise, almost like a yelping pup. The sound was so unusual and out of place I couldn't help but sit up and glance around the room to make sure I was alone and not being trailed by a stray dog.

I was definitely alone.

Geez, I'm losing it aren't I? Well done buddy, you've single handedly destroyed not only your life but also the lives of everyone who cares about you. Do you want to make a speech? Oh, I don't know what to say? I want to thank everyone for following me blindly into the abyss. Uh...I want to thank my parents who fortunately can't be here tonight because they're back on Earth safe and sound. Oh who else? I want to thank Haruhi, of whom without her constant meddling none of this would be possible. And finally, I'd like to thank all of you out there, who can't hear me, see me or even know I exist, let alone understand how much of a crappy situation I'm currently stuck in!

"Hmm, hmm, hmm..."

…

Was that...Giggling? It was muffled, but I'm sure I heard a girl's laughter. But considering I just yelled all that previous nonsense out loud it's much safer to say I've simply gone insane.

"I'm sorry, everyone...I failed. There's nothing I can say that will make things right, but...I truly am sorry. I'm to blame for all of this. Please forgive me...Mio..."

"Achoo!"

…

A sneeze?

Suddenly there came a sound of sniffling from the closet against the wall. With a cautious frown I crawled off of the bed, as quietly as possible, and made for the door. The sniffling got louder as I approached. I placed a hand on the closet door and took a deep calming breath. Then, I wrenched it open and -

"Ah!"

"AH!"

"Kyaaa!"

"Whoa!"

After a series of pointlessly stupid outbursts of alarm, silence fell upon us. I stood by the open closet, staring down with widened eyes at the figure curled up in a ball between folded up blankets and sheets. That figure glanced up with teary eyes and a quivering lip. Whether that was from the fear of being there in closed space to begin with, or from the surprise encounter just then or perhaps even relief, I cannot say. However none of that mattered the moment I set sight upon those dazzling amber eyes.

I offered a kind smile and a helping hand.

"Hi Mio...Looks like you found the closet..."

Normally I would be kicking myself over such a stupid line, but simply being able to say anything to her after all this time made it all worthwhile. With a sheepish giggle, Mio took my hand, but didn't get up. Instead she pulled me down into the closet beside her. Weakened from this entire ordeal it wasn't hard to overpower me and drag me down.

As I collapsed down next to her, I felt her slender arms enclose around me and her smooth cheek nestle comfortably in the crook of my neck. With a smile I leaned into her and hugged her back and together we sat in the closet, staring blankly at the wall.

No words passed either of our lips for some time, but it's alright. The way her fingers clenched my shirt so hard it was almost tearing...The way her shoulders trembled every so often...The way she dried her tears against my skin...They said more than words ever could.

You know...Scratch all that nonsense I said earlier, about screwing up.

This, right here...Is my redemption...