Hello everybody. Just got back from a super awesome school trip to New York, and has gotten around to updating. If you get the chance to, everyone needs to see the Broadway play War Horse. I was crying so much, but it's just. So. Good.

Well on a more related topic, this chapter is one of my favorites so far. Heh, that's probably not a good thing, coming from me, but you'll all just have to read and find out, I guess.

Chapter 36

Husky ran through the forest, not thinking or caring about where he was going to go, just away. When he finally stopped he was panting and lost but that didn't matter, since he didn't want anyone to find him anyway.

Wiping at his eyes, the silver boy grimaced. He wasn't crying, damn it. It was… he was just… it was the running or something. Sitting down, he vaguely took notice of some sort of pond he was by. He really didn't know where he was now, but it didn't matter. Pulling his legs up to his chest, he stared at the lake and tried to ignore the occasional water droplets that managed to make their way past his eyes.

"Urg… what's wrong with me?" he mumbled to the open air, for the life of him not knowing why he was this upset. Okay, he did know, but he didn't know why he cared so much. What his dad thought had never mattered before, only his mother… and now she was gone. It'd been so dang long since he'd thought about that, and he really didn't want to right now. He wasn't the only person who's life was getting screwed up, and none of the others were taking it this bad.

Tracing the markings again, he frowned ever more than he already was. That was the center of it all, but they still had no idea what it even was. Glancing back at the water, he brought his hand back down. He'd never actually swam before…

Slipping off his black jacket and hiding it in a tree, he didn't want anyone to know he was here if they came by, he walked back over to the water. He had no idea what he was doing, or even why, but his brain was just feeling too muddled right now to think straight. Taking a deep breath, he decided to just get it over with and jumped in. He could feel his body transforming by his will, and it felt so strange.

For the first few seconds underwater, he couldn't help but panic, holding his breath and absolutely refusing to let go. When he finally couldn't stand it anymore, he released the air, and the panic slowly stopped as nothing happened. He wasn't… dieing… Blinking, he just kind of looked around, not sure what he was suppose to do now that he was actually in the water.

Slowly, he just allowed himself to sink to the bottom, watching a few small fish swim away from him in the slight murk of the water. The whole situations and sensation was strange and confusing, but it didn't really feel bad. Not to mention, no one would be able to find him at the bottom of a pond. He could stay here for as long as he liked.

You also couldn't cry underwater.

After a few minutes of following the pull, the others vaguely wandering along with him as he went, Cooro reached what look like a relatively small clearing, mostly just surrounding a little pond. Frowning slightly, he walked over to the water. That's where the tug was leading him, but why would Husky be in the water? He was afraid of it…

Glancing back to make sure that no one was watching him, Cooro leaned over to get a better look inside the water, at first he didn't see anything, but almost out of nowhere a set of clear blue eyes were staring up at him from the bottom.

Husky nearly had a heart attack. When he noticed a shadow fall over him, he did not expect to see Cooro staring down at him from above the water. How did he always manage to find them, no matter what? Completely unsure for what to do, he just sort of waved awkwardly, and with a smile the black haired boy was gone. Weird.

"Hey, I think I'm gonna stay here for a while. I'll meet you back at the church Nana," Cooro said, catching their attention almost immediately.

"But what about Husky?" the brunette asked, and Cooro just shrugged. He didn't want to have her worry, but it'd be really bad if his aunt saw him the way he was now. It'd be okay, he'd explain everything after he managed to calm him down a bit.

"I just have a feeling he's gonna be okay. Don't worry, you can keep looking with Ms. Crystala if you want though," the eleven year old said, and reluctantly Nana nodded. After all, Cooro was usually right about these things. "I'll meet you back at the church," he repeated, making sure Nana understood. No matter what she said, he didn't want to worry about her trying to go home today.

"Alright," she said after a moment, and it wasn't long before Cooro couldn't hear their calls for the silver boy, and felt the presence of his other two friends a safe distance away. Walking back over to the lake, he saw Husky still looking up towards him, a confused expression on his face. Smiling, Cooro waved him up.

Hesitantly, Husky resurfaced. He still had absolutely no clue what the older boy's plan was, but decided to just trust him, barely keeping his head above water as he looked around. Thankfully Cooro was alone, but he didn't think that he'd of let his aunt see him like this anyway. He understood what could happen if anyone ever found out.

"Hey…" the silver boy said hesitantly, wringing a hand through his soaked hair. "How'd you findme?" he asked, almost feeling like a kid after their perfect hide-n-seek spot was discovered. Cooro just shrugged though, sitting down at the edge of the pond.

"Woman's intuition?" he suggested jokingly, only to completely confuse Husky.

"You're a boy…" he said flatly, and Cooro laughed. The boy in the water guessed he was trying to make him feel better, but he wasn't entirely sure if it was working or not. Well, at least he was trying.

"I was kidding, not sure how though really, I think it might have to do with our um… things," Cooro said, and Husky raised an eyebrow at him slightly.

"What, you mean like, you can sense the animal powers and track us down?" he asked, sounding more than a bit skeptical, but Cooro just nodded.

"I think so, not really sure yet though, we should try it out sometime," he suggested. Husky just shrugged, figuring that this wasn't the weirdest thing that's happened to him yet, so he shouldn't even bother to try and be surprised. Frowning slightly, Cooro started picking at the grass, wondering if he should really say what he wanted to. He didn't want to upset him but he just… he shouldn't be trying to do all of this on his own.

"Hey Husky?" the black haired boy asked, picking out a few more blades of grass.

"Yeah," he answered, not really paying too much attention, wondering if he should get out of the water and talk to Cooro like that instead.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, quickly getting his attention, and he nodded almost instinctively.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it," he said, expecting that to just be it. Cooro never went against what someone else says after all, so when he did actually try and press the subject, Husky was quite a bit surprised.

"But back with your aunt… you didn't look fine at all," he said, and Husky just shook his head.

"I said I'm okay. Just let it be," he commanded.

"But-" he tried again, although he wasn't able to get any other words in before the silver boy cut him off, sounding a bit impatient at this point. Cooro didn't want to make him mad though, he didn't want to make anyone mad, he just wanted to help him.

"Cooro, I can handle it on my own, it doesn't have anything to do with you or our powers, so stop it," he said, but Cooro just shook his head, causing Husky's frown to deepen. He just can't have all of them messing around in his life and trying to help with his problems when they already had so many of their own. It was his life, he could figure it out, but the black haired boy didn't seem to understand that.

"But you shouldn't have to," he tried.

"I want to."

"But-" Husky once again cut him off before he was able to finish whatever it was he'd try to say.

"Since when did you actually grow a backbone? I don't want you guys messing in my problems, and I don't want to talk to you about this anymore," he snapped. After a few seconds of silence, Cooro answered softly.

"That's what friends are suppose to do though…" he mumbled, and Husky just turned away from him, swerving himself around in the water.

"Then I don't want any friends!" he yelled, still facing away. Cooro just stared at him sadly.

"You really don't want to be our friend anymore?" he asked, and Husky nodded without looking back. Sighing softly, the black haired boy stood up, letting his wings unfurl behind him. It was almost dark out, and a weekday, not too many people would be out.

Husky heard the older boy stand up, and was tempted to turn back around, but didn't. Cooro just didn't understand. He couldn't have them all worrying about him. They already had so many other problems, and they had to focus on helping Nana and Senri first, then figure out the truth about these powers and those dreams. After all of that, then maybe they could try and deal with his screwed up wreck of a life, but he couldn't let that be their priority.

The silver boy was brought out of his thoughts as a small gust of wind hit him across the back, but before he could even turn around to see what it was, Cooro managed to shock him frozen with just a few words.

"Goodbye Myrrha, sorry to bother you for so long," he mumbled, effectively leaving Husky stuck in the lake. When he finally did manage to turn around, the black winged boy was too high in the sky for anything he could scream to hear, just a few feathers left floating along the small breeze.

Once he was out of sight and most of the shock had worn off, Husky slammed his hand against the water, sending a huge spray up, not that he actually cared by that point. "Damn it!" he yelled, before running his hand down his face, leaning against the edge of the lake. He was completely at a loss for what to do, one question ringing through his head.

"What's wrong with me?"

Cooro flew as high as he would allow himself, so that he had less of a chance to be seen. It really did feel great to finally be able to use his wings after all this time, but he didn't feel happy at all. It wasn't long before he could see the church underneath him, and Nana standing out front. Carefully landing on the roof, he drew in his wings before climbing in his window and walking back out the front door.

"Hey Nana," he said, trying to sound casual as the brunette jumped in the air and spun around to face him.

"Cooro! What the? How'd you get inside?" she asked, looking at his as if he'd just teleported out of thin air.

"I flew," he said casually, although that didn't stop her from looking surprised any.

"You flew?" She asked, and Cooro just nodded. Staring at him for a moment, she just sighed, shaking her head slightly. "Okay, just be careful that no one sees you. Also, we weren't able to find Husky. I know you said you think he'd be okay, but I'm worried," she said, and Cooro just shrugged, going to sit down on the church steps.

"I know, but it's true. Myrrha's fine, I just saw him," he said, only managing to keep his voice neutral, not happy. Nana just raised her eyebrow, looking him over like he'd grown a second head.

"What did you say?" she asked, and Cooro just gave her a look of mild confusion.

"I saw him, he was in the lake I left you guys at, but I couldn't have his aunt see him," he explained, but Nana was just shaking her head, the confusion she felt just increasing as she looked the black haired boy over. There was something off about him. Something bad had happened.

"No, no, not that. What did you call him?" she asked again.

"Myrrha? Well, it's his name, isn't it?" he said, and Nana was just nodding furiously.

"Since when do you call him that though? You always call him Husky. I didn't even know that wasn't his name until I met Keane because that's all you ever call him," she said, and Cooro just shrugged again, running his finger along the edge of the stone step. "What happened?" She asked, and now he wasn't looking her in the eyes.

"Hus- Myrrha said he didn't want to be our friend anymore, so I left," he explained, although Nana just continued to stare at him, completely dumbfounded.

"You left?" she asked, and Cooro simply nodded. "You actually believed he was telling the truth when he said he didn't want to be friends anymore?" the black haired boy hesitated slightly, before finally nodding a second time.

"Why would he lie?" he asked, and Nana just threw her hands up in the air.

"Because he's Husky! He wouldn't admit needing some help if he was waist deep in quicksand!" she insisted, but Cooro wasn't too sure if that was true. Sighing, she sat down next to him on the steps. "Look, Husky's just being stupid, let's go back and find him. I promise I can make him admit he was lying," Nana said. Cooro looked up uncertainly from the sidewalk.

"You really don't think he meant it?" he asked. He couldn't believe how selfish he was being. Nana was the one who just got her bat wings less then a few days ago, and here she was comforting him. No wonder Husky didn't want to be his friend anymore.

"Of course he didn't mean it. How long have you guys been friends now?" she asked.

"Only a few months, it hasn't actually been as long as it feels," the black haired boy said, but Nana just nodded, which confused him slightly. Only a few months of friendship didn't seem quite as strong as if he'd said years or something like that, but she was acting almost like he had.

"And how long does it feel like you've know him?" she asked, and Cooro shrugged a bit.

"Forever… it's like that for all of you," he mumbled.

"Right!" the brunette said, standing up off the steps and turning back towards him. "we've only known each other a few months, but it feels like we have our entire lives. Plus we all, I mean, we all have these powers… There's no way everything we've been through happen and Husky can just decide he doesn't feel like hanging around with us anymore," she said, and hesitantly Cooro nodded. She did have a point, he just hoped Husky would listen to her.

"Now c'mon, it's getting late, let's go before Husky leaves the park," the brunette said, and Cooro followed behind her, not too sure about going back. He didn't want to just have Husky to tell him to go away again. It already hurt enough the first time.

Husky slowly sunk to the bottom of the lake again, not sure what to do at all. He'd just screwed up. Again. Why was he so bad at everything? Running a hand through his hair, he looked up towards the surface. The sky was getting darker, it'd be night before he knew it. He didn't want to go back home though. He didn't even want to leave the water.

Brushing his hand along the pond bed, he slowly laid down. It was strange, lying underneath the water. There was a certain weightlessness that wouldn't really let him feel like he was solidly on the bottom, but it was better than nothing. He just wanted to rest for a little while. Everyone back home would be mad and worried, but he didn't care. He felt bad enough as it was, he didn't need to add them yelling at him on top of it all.

It wasn't long before the child managed to fall asleep at the bottom of the pond. Never in all his life would he have imagined he could be that comfortable in water, especially after what had happened, but he figured he might just be even more worn out than anxious at this point.

The silver boy slammed the door behind him, breath coming in short gasps by this point. He had no idea what was going on, just a few words sticking out to him, and none of them made him any less panicked.

Fire. Danger. Escape.

Spinning to his left, he didn't even feel like he was in control of his body, as he came to face Senri. It was Senri with the bear arm though, not normal Senri.

"What are we gonna do? We have to find them!" he yelled, not understanding the words that came out of his mouth. Senri just nodded, starting to move towards one of the windows while Husky tried to keep himself from coughing. The smoke was getting worse.

He felt his heart stop when someone grabbed him from behind, locking him in their grip and causing him to lose hold on a staff he'd only just noticed once it flew out of his fingertips.

"Senr-!" he yelled, unable to finish when whoever it was placed their hand over his mouth. It was enough to get the teen's attention though, and he would have attacked, if the person hadn't pressed some sort of blade against the silver boy's neck. Oh god. Oh god. He was going to die.

More men came into the room, and they all had weapons. He kept trying to scream, although he didn't know for the life of him what he was trying to say.

"Put away your anima, or we kill the boy!" one of the men yelled, and Husky just started to fight harder, although he had no idea what that meant. Anima? What…? Somehow, he'd managed to free at least his mouth so that he could speak again.

"Don't do it! Senri they'll kill you! Don't you dare-" he yelled, only to be muffled again. The grey haired teen just looked at him sadly, before allowing his arm to shift back into a normal, human arm. Husky just started fighting against his restraints more, almost forgetting about the blade barely centimeters away from his neck. He had no idea what was going on and he couldn't control his body, but if he did, he'd probably be thrashing just as hard.

He managed to get his mouth free again, but it was too late, as one of the men, Husky only just now realizing that he couldn't even see their faces, started to attack the now defenseless grey haired teen.

"Stop it! Senri, fight! Don't di-" he wasn't able to finish his sentence, muffled for a third time. Before he saw anything, he managed to close his eyes as tight as he could, very thankful for at least that.

When he opened them again, he was back underwater, and his heart felt like it was going a mile a minute. Breathing deeply, not even caring that he could do it without any air, he tried to calm himself down. It was only a dream, only a dream. Holy crap, what was that?

It wasn't real, it wasn't real. That's what it was. Just calm down. Hold your breath and count backwards from ten. Releasing the air into the water, he closed his eyes. Somehow, that trick always managed to work.

Even if he was still terrified and wanted nothing more than someone else besides himself to tell him it was going to be alright, and it wasn't real, but he didn't have anyone else right now. The trick still managed to work though, he thought, pulling a hand down his face slowly.

He couldn't help but wonder if it was worth it though. He was breathing slightly more evenly than before, but alongside the terrifying nightmare, now he couldn't stop thinking of Cooro and Keane… and his mother.

No, he didn't know if it was worth it, not at all.

And the dreams are back in action! Also, subtle (or not so subtle) parallels to the actual series, woo. I just can't stop tormenting them, can I? Right after a fight with his best friend, Husky goes and has that for a dream. I actually didn't want to really end the chapter there, but if I included the next scene, it'd just be way too long.

Well, I hope you like this chapter, and please review.