Part 7

"No… no! They can't take you Carey!" Fi cried as tears filled her eyes. "They can't…" she trailed off, her voice cracking.

Carey just looked at Fi, not knowing what to say. He knew he was hurting her, but he had to do this. He'd rather bring Clu back than be here himself. Clu's life was more important to Carey than his own.

"Please Carey don't go… They've taken my dad from me and now Clu too… they can't take you too….don't leave me here alone" Fi said, her voice barely above a whisper. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer, hugging her tightly. She cried onto his chest, hugging him while he was still there. *It's not fair. Carey's gonna go and I'm gonna be left alone* She knew him too well. She knew that he would do anything to get his brother back, but that didn't make the situation any better.

*How can I love her and yet hurt her so much at the same time? But she knows I have to do this…it's the only thing I can do to correct at least some of my mistakes.* He hugged her even tighter, pulling her closer to him, trying to soothe her. After a while her sobs faded away.

"So, how are you supposed to get to Batakas and get Clu back?" Fi asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"I don't know…" Carey answered, ignoring her tone of voice.

[Batakas, an hour later]

"So, what do I have to do now? I already brought you my baby brother." Clark asked the Assembly of Evil Forces (AEF). The good side of him, the one that wasn't controlled by the AEF, regretted having hurt as many people as he had, and he knew he would only hurt more. But his good side was very weak, and was forced to keep a low profile by the AEF. It could only come out during moments of strong human emotions like love and guilt.

"You must bring us the girl, Fiona Phillips," the head of the AEF commanded.

"But I thought we couldn't hurt her because of her father's and my brother Carey's protection", Clark asked, puzzled.

"We can't kill her, but we can keep her hostage here for a little while, until we get your brother. After he's gone, she won't have that added protection and we can finish her off. Her father can't protect her anymore on his own. We've grown too strong for him." The AEF said, grinning evilly.

"So… how do I get her here? It's gonna be very hard with Carey around" Clark said, trying to keep the fact that he had warned Carey a secret.

"Through her computer of course. Tell her to go to a specific place at a specific time and then let it flow naturally from there. But don't make her suspicious, or it could ruin all our plans!" the AEF concluded, and sent Clark away to lure Fi into their trap.

[Fi's room]

Fi was searching for a way to get Clu back, while Carey strummed on his guitar. She didn't want him to go, but there was no way to change his mind now, so she might as well help him, no matter how much his decision annoyed her. This meant so much to him, and she knew that he would only be happy until he gave Clu back his life. The soft, slow music helped calm her down during her search. She hadn't turned up much more than what she had read to Carey earlier. She was about to give up when she heard the little computer voice announce that she had new mail. She clicked on the little envelope and saw that there was no return email address, just a name. Clark. The subject line was hard to make out except for one word, which resembled Batakas.

"Carey, I think this is for you" she said. He moved around until he was sitting behind her and looking over her shoulder as she opened the email.

I know you're looking for a way to get Clu back and I can help. Go to the alley behind 7th and Main, You'll find an old 3-story building there. Go up to the roof and wait there. I'll bring you here to Batakas and send Clu back to the mortal world. Be there at 2 this afternoon. Bring Fi. You shouldn't leave her alone at any time.

-Clark-

Carey and Fi finished reading the email at the same time, but their reactions to it were severely different. Carey smiled, a little wistfully maybe, but a smile anyway. He was finally gonna get his brother back, even if it meant replacing him over in Batakas. Fi's eyes filled with tears yet again as she thought that Carey was actually going to leave her. Carey wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to his chest, hugging her tightly from behind. He understood what she was feeling, but there was nothing else to be done. He didn't want to leave her now, but he had to.

Fi stopped crying after a while, amazed she still had tears after the many times she had cried in the last 2 days. It was noon now, she still had a couple more hours with Carey before he had to go forever. Then, an idea formed in her head *What if I can find a way to bring Clu back and keep Carey here at the same time?* She kept it to herself, and sat back to ponder how to make her idea work.

[Batakas, 1:30 p.m.]

*She fell for the trap!* the evil side of Clark thought gleefully. In a while the Assembly could get what they wanted and get off his back for all of eternity. Well, at least for the next few years.

[Tour Bus, 1:45 p.m]

"Come on Fi, lets go" Carey told her, guiding her out of the bus. "We've only got 15 minutes to get there."

"Only?" Fi asked sadly. "Carey, I…" she trailed off, unable to complete the thought. She still hadn't found a way for Carey not to go, and in 15 minutes it would be too late. She just let Carey lead her to where they were supposed to go, remaining quiet for most of the way.

As they were nearing the building, a memory of the dream hit Carey. The street he had been walking along looked remarkably like the one near the alley they were heading to. "Maybe we should take another way" he said, as he turned around and looked for another way to get to the alley. "I've got a bad feeling about this street." Fi silently complied with what he said and followed him as he put his arm around her shoulders. A few minutes later they got to the building. They slowly climbed the stairs to the roof and waited. It was still 1:55. *Five minutes to convince him to stay* Fi thought. *Might as well give it a try.*

"Carey, are you sure you have to do this?" Fi asked him.

"Yeah. I've gotta give Clu back his life," Carey was slightly surprised. He thought she understood why he had to do this.

"But there's gotta be another way! What if we wait a while until something else comes up…" she said.

"Clark said this was the only way! I thought you understood that!" he said, now slightly annoyed.

"This can't be the only way! It seems too easy, almost like a trap…" she said.

"Why the hell do you have to question everything! Don't you get that I have to do this? That I want to do this?" he was yelling now. For some reason, what she'd said had triggered anger that had been pent up for some time.

"I know you have to, but I don't want you to! Don't you get that I love you? I've lost too many people to have to lose you too now!" Carey's outburst had surprised Fi and she retaliated by screaming back at him. He was usually really laid-back and relaxed, so she'd hardly ever heard him shout like that. It was the first time those shouts were aimed at her. She'd finally told him what she's been keeping for so long, but she wasn't sure he'd heard her. *But I don't care. I got it off my chest even if he didn't hear me*

"Damn it Fi! I love you too, but I have to do this! Clu was too young to die and I'll replace him there if I can. The sooner the better!" he shouted, turning his back to her.

"Oh and you're not too young?" she responded, her tone almost acid. "You can't leave!" she said, grabbing his arm as he turned.

"Fine, if you don't support me, then leave! Just go!" he yelled, extremely angry and somewhat betrayed. He turned around violently to face her, the sudden movement knocking her over. It shouldn't have knocked her over, but she was caught off guard. She flew over the edge of the building, barely holding on to the edge.

"Help!" she screamed, as Carey grabbed her arm.

"Fi! Calm down a bit. I can't hold on if you keep moving around so much" he said in a soothing tone. She was obviously panicked. He could see it in her eyes and was instantly sorry about everything he's said. "I'm gonna pull you up now. It'll be fine" He started pulling her up slowly.

"Carey, please don't let go" she pleaded.

"I won't. I promise" he said, a slight smile on his worried face.

She smiled back, slightly soothed by the gesture. Then she felt something strange in the air near her. It was like there was something there. She started moving a bit, but it was too much for Carey. His grip on her arm loosened slightly, dropping Fi a couple of inches. She screamed and moved around even more. "Fi stop moving! I can't hold on much longer!" he said, his voice slightly panicked now. He'd realized that he might lose her too, and the thought terrified him. He tightened his grip and kept pulling her up, but before he was done, he felt something prying Fi's fingers loose. "Fi, what's going on??!!" He asked now really alarmed and worried.

Fi felt her fingers slipping from Carey's hand. "Carey!!! Don't let go. Please!!!" she was crying now, panic having long since taken over her mind.

"Fi! Hold on a while longer!!" he tightened his grip on her hand, only to feel it loosed once more. This time, he could do nothing to get a grip on her hand again. The invisible presence was way too strong for him. He felt something pry his fingers loose too and then Fi was hardly holding on. And then she wasn't holding on any longer.

"CAREY!!!!!"

"FIONA!!!!!"

They both gave a final scream of terror and agony as Fi fell to the ground below.