Friends: *trying to pry me away from laptop* Wherever Girl, you have got to take a break!

Me: *clinging on for dear life* Just one more update, I swear!

Friends: That's what you said three hours ago!

Me: Must… update… gah! *loses grip*

*CRASH!*

*everyone is in a pile*

…I think I've already got a break… a break in my spine…!

Disclaimer: I don't own Ni no Kuni… on an unrelated note, just anyone have any painkillers?

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~Guest Chambers~

For the last hour or so, Swaine had been standing by the window in silence, looking out at the mechanized kingdom below, his thoughts drifting. In the reflection he looked at Esther, lying on the bed, still passed out from the shock of seeing him recover from death.

In all honesty, he couldn't believe it himself, wondering if it had all just been a dream… or if he were still dreaming as well. His arm ached in a few places where he had pinched himself, twisting the skin as hard as he could to feel pain and prove to himself he was, in fact, very much alive.

He rubbed his abdomen… Lifting his shirt he checked again for any scars that would prove he had been slain, but his skin was clear of any damage.

Not that it reassured him. The memory was stuck in his mind… the violet eyes that glared into his as five long, sharp claws pierced through his ribs and stabbed his heart, his body growing cold and rigid as everything went black.

And suddenly… he saw a light…

He was surrounded by light…

Then… then he saw his father.

…

He woke up before he saw anyone else.

No… waking up couldn't describe it.

It felt as if he was being pulled backwards, plummeting to the earth before being hit by a flash of light…

Then he was surrounded by everyone, air filling his lungs again as he felt his heart beat again.

He felt his heart now. It was still racing.

The older prince shut his eyes. He had brushes with death before, but never was pried out of its grip.

However…

"Mmhh…" came a soft moan; Esther was stirring.

Swaine turned around. He took a deep breath, then put on his most convincing grin, walking over and sitting on the bedside next to her. "Hey, sleepyhead, finally waking up?" he quipped.

"Swaine…?" Esther murmured, slowly coming to. Once her focus was clear and she saw his face, her eyes widened… tears brimming along the edges. "Swaine!"

Without warning, the familiar-tamer lunged forth and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tight. "Whoa! Easy now…" The thief sputtered; he felt her shoulders shaking, hearing her sob. "Calm down..."

"I was so scared… I thought… I thought you were gone…"

"Heh, you say that as if you'd actually miss me- oof!" she beat him on the chest with her fist.

"It's not funny, you idiot! When I saw what happened… seeing you fall back… your blood was everywhere… I-I held your hand, it was so cold…" tears were gushing out of her eyes. "You… you were dead, Swaine… I was so scared… I didn't want to lose you…" She looked up at him. "You're… you're really alive, right? This… this isn't a delusion, is it?"

Swaine flinched, seeing the tears rolling down her cheeks, her eyes filled with sorrow and hope. All because of him. He had only seen that look on her face when Oliver had fallen into a coma after their first battle with Vileheart… but he never imagined she'd be like this about him. Not even in death.

He wrapped his arms around her. "Yeah, I'm still here… it's alright. I'm here. I'm here." He whispered, not only assuring his friend, but also himself. Feeling her embrace helped him remain grounded to this reality.

Esther held onto him. She pressed her ear against his chest, listening to his heartbeat; she was ecstatic to hear the sound, and she squeezed him tighter. "I'm so glad you're alive… I-I don't know how it happened, but… I'm just so happy," she told him.

"Heh, c'mon, you think Death could really stop me?" he quipped.

After a moment, they pulled away, Esther wiping her eyes. "Swaine… do you know… What had you come back from the dead? It's… it's a miracle!" she asked.

"Like I said… I don't know. One minute, I'm entering the pearly gates… and suddenly I'm waking up full of life."

"I find that hard to believe," came the voice of Vincent; the two looked over, seeing him and Marcassin in the doorway.

"You don't believe my brother has no knowledge of his revival?" Marcassin asked.

"No- I don't believe he got into Heaven." Vincent quipped.

Swaine gave him a look. "Glad to see your sense of humor didn't die,"

"And neither did your cynicism,"

Esther cleared her throat, walking out. "Vincent, why don't we go find the others while Swaine and Marcassin talk?" she suggested, knowing the siblings needed a moment to handle the situation.

"After you," Vincent replied, waving her forth.

"When you find everyone, tell them they are welcome to rest in our guest chambers," Marcassin stated. "And we shall have a meeting tomorrow about all the knowledge you have gained… and the full stories behind your realm,"

"Your realm?" Esther questioned.

"Yeah… it's gonna be a long story. We may need two or three bathroom breaks to get through it," Vincent replied with a shrug, then walked out with her, closing the door behind him.

Marcassin walked forth, standing before his brother. The room was silent for a minute before he spoke again. "I'm so glad you've come back, brother…" he said, his eyes brimming with tears as well.

"Marca-" Swaine began to state, but was trapped in a hug by his little brother before he could finish.

"I… I didn't know what to do… Seeing you dead… I was beyond devastation!" the young sage sobbed; try as he might, there was no way he could maintain composure, after nearly losing his brother. "It was… it was like I was reliving the past… when father died… I was scared I had lost you too…"

"It's alright... I'm here." Swaine repeated. The mention of his father made him think of what he had seen in his glimpse of the afterlife. "…I saw him up there, you know."

Marcassin pulled away a bit, looking at him, astounded. "Y-You did…? Did he tell you anything?"

Swaine closed his eyes once more. He had seen his father, the two of them making eye-contact… but his father only stated his name in surprise, before suddenly he was pulled back. "No… I wasn't there for very long, so we didn't have a chance for conversation." He sighed.

"I-I see…" Marcassin still trembled. He bowed his head, still sobbing. "I-I'm sorry… I can't.. I can't get over what happened…"

"Hey." Swaine gripped him by the shoulders. "I'm alive now. That's all that matters. And right now, we've got a world to save."

"C-Correct…" Marcassin breathed in deep, wiping away his tears. "Vincent mentioned you met the Purcroser… What did he say?"

"He said in order to defeat Phiroseth, we have to take out Cobayne first. He gave us a list of ingredients to make some crystal that will render him mortal to do so. That's why we came back, some of them can be found in Hamelin…" he then plucked a hair off Marcassin's head.

"Ow! Gascon?!"

"Sorry! It's one of the ingredients we need, heh."

"Ugh, you never put up much restraint when it came to picking on me…" he smiled, resting his hand on his brother's shoulder."I'm glad you're still with us, brother."

Swaine patted him on the back. "Heh heh, let's hear you say that when I mess with you a month from now."

"…Provided our quest will be a success by then." Marcassin stood up, looking out the window at the kingdom. "These new allies of ours… these 'Authors'… I'm starting to fear how well we can trust them."

Swaine nodded. "Well… considering they want to rid the world of Phiroseth as much as the rest of us, we're just going to have to keep ties."

"That's odd, coming from you. When we first met them… well, Elizabeth was the only one you were keen on being around,"

The thief blushed. "That's because she was the least crazy!" he shook his head. "I still think they're all mad… but, after what we had to deal with back on Turmoil Terrain, it's a safe bet they're on our side."

"I see. …Very well, I will trust your judgment, Gascon." He began to walk away… then turned sharply. "What was the first mechanism we built?"

"What?"

"Answer the question."

"Geez, it was a miniature tank! Remember? It crashed into the wall and the sparks set the curtains on fire, and the ol' man made us wash the tire-tracks off the hall floors. It took us two weeks to clean!" he arched an eyebrow. "…Why do you want to know?"

Marcassin smiled in relief. "Oh… just reminiscing." He began to walk out, though looked back once. "Will you be alright tonight? If you'd like me to stay…"

Swaine scoffed, waving him off. "I'm fine, Marcassin. Go get some rest… we have a lot to talk about with those weirdoes tomorrow."

The young sage nodded, before walking out, leaving his brother be. Deep down, he knew he wasn't alright, but wanted space to clear his own mind.

He needed to do the same.

…

Swaine waited until all was quiet, before exiting the room. He walked along the corridors until he found a balcony, stepping out for some fresh air, once again peering out at the city as his mind wandered to his near-death experience.

"…There you are,"

"Gah!" Swaine turned around, finding it was only Luna… though that didn't exactly give him any reassurance. "What do you want? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Shouldn't you?"

The thief scoffed, turning his back to her. "Just leave me alone. I have nothing to say to you,"

"I want to apologize,"

He looked over his shoulder. "For what? Your brother killing me? …Get over it already, I'm alive, I'm here- just keep him on a leash next time."

"You don't understand why he did it, do you?"

"…frankly, I don't care. Spell, curse, whatever the hell Melissa did to him-"

"It wasn't a curse…" Luna walked over, standing beside him; she looked over the side of the balcony at the view. "It was his Dark Ego, Fluffy."

"…the hell kind of a name is that?"

"It kind of serves as a hint on how to calm him down. Fluffy won't harm kids, animals (unless they're out to kill), or me. If someone hugs him, he changes back. Years ago… someone hurt him, and since then he couldn't overcome the trauma. When Fluffy sees someone as a threat- especially when a child is involved- he has no control."

"And he saw me as a threat?"

"He didn't recognize you. Dark Egos have no way of telling friend from foe in most cases. He thought you were going to hurt Esther,"

Swaine thought back to that moment… how he was gripping Esther's wrist when Fluffy slammed him into the wall… then he shot at him, thinking the 'monster' was going to harm her. "So he was just trying to protect her… well. So was I." he sighed, shaking his head. He put his face in his palm, his mind in a jumble. He really didn't want to think about any of this.

"Just… understand Zeke likes you. He's still suffering from guilt about it,"

"And, what? You're going to have me tell him I forgive him?"

She gave him a dark look. "Forgiveness that's conducted by another is composed of insincerity. If you want to forgive him, that's your choice alone. And he doesn't expect you to…" she sighed. "I'm just saying… don't judge him just for what Fluffy had done. The last thing he'd ever want to do is hurt someone he cares about- and he cares about all of us, you included."

Swaine shook his head. "I'm still keeping my guard up."

"I understand." They stood in silence for a moment, before she spoke again. "Swaine. How do you feel?"

"I'm alright, I told you-"

"Swaine." She looked at him in the eye. "…I've died before, too. Keep that in mind."

He gasped a bit… oh yeah, they did mention that back on the beach, didn't they. He turned away from her. "It's still none of your damn business!" he spat. "So I died, saw my father, and was pulled back before I could see-" he caught himself.

"...anyone else?" Luna finished for him in a guess.

He looked at her for a moment, but shook his head. "Before I could see what all there was. But, who cares? I'm alive. That's all that matters. I won't be going back for a long time, and I plan on it."

She looked at him for a moment, seeing how stiff his body was, a look of irritation on his face, and sorrow in his eyes. "Do you… wish you could see it one more time, though?"

He flinched, turning and looking at her, a mix of shock and anger on his face. "What?! Is that a threat?!" he pulled out his gun, aiming it at her. "I swear to God, if you don't shut up and get out of my sight-!"

She took a step back, but only sighed. "I just… I recognize the feeling, okay?"

"What the f- do you not see the gun pointed at your head?!"

She rolled her eyes. "You're not the first one to point a gun at my head, dude."

Swaine breathed heavily, his eyes filled with rage. "Why won't you leave me alone? S-So you've had your own near-death experiences… That doesn't mean you know how I'm feeling! What the hell makes you think I'd want to go back?!"

Luna stood there for a moment… then held up her wrist, pulling down an arm-band around it.

The thief stared, lowering his gun. On her wrist was a thin scar.

"…I wanted to go back, too." She covered it back up, and leaned against the balcony railing, looking out at the city once more. "When you see it for the first time, you never forget… and you want to return. But… you never know when you'll get to."

"You think… you think I would try and…?" Swaine stammered.

"Tch. Of course not. You're stronger than that." She looked at him. "Sorry if I freaked you out. I just wanted to make you understand. …If you don't talk about how you feel, try to keep it to yourself, it'll only keep haunting you."

The thief breathed for a minute or two. Luna stood silent again, and- holstering his gun- he hesitantly stood beside her. He shut his eyes. He didn't want to talk about it, but at the same time he did. It was conflicting, and his chest felt tight thinking about it…

If it were with Oliver, maybe he could bring it up- the young wizard nearly died himself before… but the young wizard didn't exactly make it to paradise, rather he only had a heart-to-heart with Shadar before the Dark Djinn severed their soul-links, and the Pure-Hearted One came back to share his tale.

Luna, though… well, she came closer.

He gripped the railing. "Alright… I didn't want to leave. I… I'm a little pissed I had to come back, really. D-Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I'm still alive- still with my brother and friends and get a second chance… but at the same time…" he bit his lip. "It's like… waking up from a dream you didn't want to end."

"But if you were given the option… would you choose to come back?"

He pondered. "…Maybe. There was someone I was looking forward to seeing again,"

His dad… Luna thought, nodding in consent. "Yeah. I have someone I want to see again, too. …We all do." She looked at him. "But, until then… there's a reason we're still here. And kicking Phiroseth's ass is probably part of it,"

"Heh, that I'll agree with." Swaine closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath, his chest feeling lighter. He looked at Luna, still looking out at the city, and rested his hand on top of hers. "You're a real pain… but… thanks."

She blushed, but only nodded.

Swaine stretched, turning and walking inside. "I'm going to try to get some sleep... it's been one hell of a day. You coming in?" she nodded again. "'Night then,"

"Goodnight."

Luna stood there a moment, looking at her hand.

It was no use.

*Poof!*

Heart racing fast, she transformed into Zippy. "He held my hand…!" she swooned, passing out with hearts fluttering overhead.

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A/N: And that's how you kill a moment XD …don't judge me.

So, Zippy's back, Swaine managed to get something off his chest, we've had some fluff… Next chapter, we lay out everything on the table and clear things up with everyone.

…

…anyone remember what this story was about, again?

Please review. No flames though!