Disclaimer: Bust-A-Groove belongs to Enix. I own nothing.

La Rima Tibia

Chapter 6: All I Remember...

by ArchFaith (formerly known as the ArchPrincess of Saturn)

"Attention passengers. This is your pilot, Captain Takimachi. I'd like to welcome you aboard InterWorld Airlines on Flight 578, bound for Tokyo, Japan. Our flight time is approximately 5 hours, and there will be two meals and a light snack served on the way. There will also be two movies shown on the flight."

I leaned my head back on the seat, listening to the captain's announcement. Next to me, he sat quietly, reading a magazine.

Last night seemed so far away...like a dream. Maybe it was my dream come true. Him holding me, kissing me, telling me he loved me...after our kiss, we had gone back to the hotel. Don't worry, nothing heavy happened between us...I wouldn't dream of that! I'm only 13...

A good night's rest. He tucked me in. And I slept.

I didn't have my dream again. The good version nor the bad one. I dreamed of nothing. For that one night, I was content.

Then morning arrived. Much too soon. He was shaking me awake at 4 AM, for our flight back was at 6:30 AM. Our vacation was officially over.

I took a shower and got dressed. He did as well. We then retrieved our bags, lugged them down to the reception area and checked out.

He never did tell me who paid for the trip. Maybe when I got back to Tokyo, he'd reveal who it was.

We hailed a taxi to the airport. We were dropped off at the terminal, where we checked in at the counter. It didn't take a very long time...but as it turned out, we were the last on the plane. And we had made it just in time; if we had been five minutes later, they would have left without us.

As I sit here, on the plane going back to Tokyo, my home, I feel a pang of sadness. It was so fun...well, except for the days when he would be at the convention. What was the convention anyway? Why was it so important?

"You never told me what the convention was about," I whisper into his ear, not wanting to disturb the noisy silence of the plane.

"It was business. For my job," he answers, flipping the pages of the magazine.

"Hey, what IS your job?" I ask, realizing that I knew very little about him outside of BAG. I thought I knew him, but...

He shakes his head. "Nothing for you to know."

I am about to repeat the question when he pulls me close. "Go to sleep, Shorty-pie. We woke up really early, right? Aren't you still sleepy?"

As I was, I didn't feel like going to sleep at the moment, due to the walking and carrying, but suddenly I felt my eyelids began to droop. He was just doing this so I wouldn't ask him about the convention, but the trick was working...

I snuggled up to him and fell sound asleep.

-

I thought I had gotten out of it; but no, there's no escaping for me.

I had that dream. Again. The bad version.

"Shorty...I don't want you to leave me, but sooner or later you'll have to."

Why?!

Who sends me these dreams? What do they mean? Is something going to happen to me? Or to him? This can't be, it just can't...!

My eyes fly open. I feel his cheek brushing against my hair. He is asleep. He must be dreaming better dreams than I am at the moment. I sit upright on the chair, disturbing our sleeping position. He wakes up, his eyes slightly glazed. "Shorty...what's...?"

I decide to finally tell him the dream. It was no use hiding it. If I kept it to myself I'd go insane. I wanted him to know, finally know what was bothering me. And if it meant anything—

"Well, I've been having this dream over the last few weeks," I begin.

He nods, urging me to go on.

"And...well, there are two versions...the good one and the bad one. And—"

The plane suddenly swerved sharply, sending me crashing into him. I had forgotten to put on my seatbelt. He caught me and held me. I snuggled my head onto his shoulder. "And..." I continued, "well...the good version has you in it...well, so does the bad one..."

The captain's voice filtered over the speaker. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are having some problems with the right engine. Please remain in your seats with your seatbelt fastened."

I plopped back into my seat and tightly fastened my seatbelt. He seemed to either ignore the announcement or not notice it. "Go ahead."

"And...in the good version, you would be standing there, holding your arms out—"

The captain's voice yet again, as the plane took a sudden dip, making me feel like I had left my stomach behind. "Attention passengers: there is a problem with the right engine. It has started to malfunction..."

"To me, and I'd go to you, and you'd kiss—"

"Is there a mechanic or technical supervisor onboard the plane at the moment?" the captain asked.

"Me, and tell me you love me—"

"Attention passengers: we may have to make an emergency landing in the Sea of Japan. I ask that you please put on your safety floatation—"

He never got to finish.

Neither did I.

The plane took a nose dive, sending the panicky people reeling back into their seats. I was thrown back, unable to move, do anything except scream. I was pushed back into the seat...the plane was descending so fast I couldn't breathe, couldn't close my eyes.

Some of the people, their seatbelts having been unfastened, were being flung back and forth across the cabin. Next to me, he was also screaming, however unmanly it might have been.

In terror, I glanced out the window, having been seated in a window seat. I could see the approaching ocean, the blue waves, the whitecaps, waiting to eat me alive, to swallow the plane and drop it to the bottom of the sea.

This was my dream.

I close my eyes and manage to grab his hand. He grasps me tightly, unable to say anything to me. My eyes have tears in them. Would it end like this? Please, I'm only 13! I have my whole life ahead of me! Don't take me away. I want to be with him...

The horrible noise of our splash into the ocean, the passengers' screaming throats, the water filling up the window, my hand grasping onto his...

That's all I remember...

Notes: This is the end of this fanfic. However, if you want to know what happens to Shorty and who he is, stay tuned for the continuation, El Ritmo Frio, a separate fanfic, which deals with a different perspective.