*two chapters in three days! I'm on a spree! Well this one is getting into that sappy stuff…heeheehee ^.^ I shalt not say more*

Chapter 8 The True End of the Ice Witch

Alcyone couldn't feel the trap being laid for her. All she felt was her thirst; her thirst for Umi's blood and her body.

All Umi could think was how weak she was, how she hadn't even been able to protect Cephiro from this one threat. She didn't even feel the icy hands grip her slender throat. All she felt was the cold pang of loneliness and self hatred. All these thoughts ran through her mind until Alcyone's cold voice broke through her own thoughts. She noticed slowly that Alcyone's voice was her own; it was in her mind. She had managed to inhabit the Magic Knight's body and now she was telling her miserable tale through her.

"I crawled back to him, barely alive. He was being merciful, said he'd let me regain my strength. He sealed me in the mirror to protect me; he didn't know he'd be killed by the Magic Knights. Had it not been for that damn Water Knight I'd be in his arms now. So now I have her, this gorgeous Knight, and I think with her. I have her thoughts, and she has mine. We're not that far apart you know; we were both just looking for someone to love, and our loneliness got the better of us. Only, I blame it on those around me, and she blames it on herself. I'm right; she's wrong. But I do believe I've done enough talking; I will do what I meant to do years ago," she pulled out Umi's sword, and they realized that Umi had lost the battle.

Hikaru and Fuu came sprinting in as Umi's sword was drawn.

"Umi-chan?" Hikaru whispered, and all eyes turned toward the two Knights.

"Hikaru stay back!" Lantis ordered, but it was too late; Hikaru had Umi's waist begging her not to hurt anybody as Umi's sword came crashing down.

Tears trickled down her cheeks as she heard metal meet metal and heard Fuu scream, "Umi-san!" as she stopped the blow, and Hikaru pulled away cowering.

"I'm so weak," she muttered, and the sword fell, "I can't do anything right."

All their eyes flashed with hope but quickly it was doused when Alcyone again regained control and picked up the sword, "No!" she shouted bringing it down on Fuu, hard.

She screamed and fell her golden hair falling beneath her.

"Fuu!" Ferio shouted and raised his sword catching Umi off-guard and throwing her to the ground. Her sword skidded out of her hands as he raised his sword once more. She tried to shield herself with her hands, but it wouldn't work. The blade stopped centimeters from her skin threatening to dig in.

Ferio turned and growled at Clef to let him go.

"I'm not going to let you kill one of the Magic Knights!" Clef shouted in response.

"We promised her we would," Presea said softly, and Caldina nodded.

"What?" Hikaru whispered looking up from the slowly awaking Fuu.

While this had been going on Umi had moved from beneath Ferio's sword and scrambled to her own. Lantis stopped her, "One step I swear. The Guru can't stop us both."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Clef muttered.

"Would you rather us let this creation go and destroy Cephiro? Kill us all, everyone, including the Magic Knights? Who will be there to help us then?!" Ferio demanded, "We have to be rid of her. That's how she wanted it," he said the last thing softly and suddenly it dawned on everyone.

Clef remembered her saying, "It'll get better. As soon as all this is over." She had been lonely, afraid and she wanted a way out. She wanted to be remembered, this was the perfect way.

"What?" Hikaru was still in the dark.

"No!" Fuu screamed as tears streamed down her cheeks, "I won't let her do it!" She scrambled over to Umi, "Umi we need you come back," she begged, and she saw the flecks of purple in her eyes begin to vanish as that ocean blue replaced it, "Please Umi."

Hikaru seemed to understand as she crawled near Fuu, "You don't need to be lonely because you have us."

She tried desperately to get to her sword but when she got to where it had been it was gone, "Celes!" but he wouldn't come.

'Umi,' his voice was in her mind, 'Come back to us,' she fell to her knees as Alcyone materialized in front of them, and Umi screamed in pain and anger as she struggled to stand.

"Damn you!" Alcyone screamed at Umi, "You could have had everything you've ever wanted!"

"I already have everything I want in those around me," Umi met her cold eyes head on as her sword appeared in her grasp, and Alcyone opened her hand.

Thousands of ice crystals flew at her, and she struggled to block them as they tore at her body ripping clothes and skin alike. She dripped deep red blood onto the floor of her room.

"Water Dragon!" she destroyed them as Alcyone began another attack, but she slowly turned to Clef who had her contained and was struggling hard to keep it that way.

"Didn't you always say your goal was to train us so that one day we would be even stronger than you?!" she shouted and threw off his guard. She slowly turned back to Umi.

"I won't let you hurt her!" Clef shouted and hit Alcyone with Lightning magic as she screamed, but he was tired from lack of sleep and all the energy he'd used. She hit him hard with a spike of ice, and he fell.

Umi's eyes flashed; his breathing was shallow. He might die because he was defending her and as her emotions built up more images flashed in her mind. Her friends tears and pain and all the joy Cephiro brought to them; the joy Alcyone threatened to destroy. She felt a new anger in her heart and a new passion as the words began to brim on her lips, "Dragon Heart!" and a spiral of blue water came crashing down on Alcyone as she screamed and disappeared and all the mirrors in the palace shattered…

She awoke with a pounding headache and a clear memory. She was still on the floor of her bedroom, but her injuries were cleaned and for the most part healed. Fuu and Hikaru were still beside her telling her she hadn't been out for long.

Her first thoughts were for the two beside her, "Are you okay? Are you…you?" she questioned tears welling in her eyes as a lump started in her throat threatening to stop her questioning.

"Who else would we be?" Hikaru asked sounding thoroughly confused.

Umi started crying and laughing at the same time because that slight hint of love in Hikaru's voice was back, and she was sure it was them.

"Are you okay Umi-san?" Fuu asked, and she nodded unable to speak. Finally she managed to choke the second thing on her mind…"Clef?"

Here Hikaru winced, and Fuu looked away.

"They took him to his room, but he's the healer, the Mage. He was pretty bang up. We were waiting for you and then we were going over there. Maybe I can help," Fuu tried to explain gently, but the news hit Umi hard. She struggled to stand, and they wanted to say no, tell her to stay but the look in her eyes kept them silent.

She staggered down the hall refusing their support as she searched blindly for Clef's room. Hikaru led the way completely numb to what had happened. When the two walked in the others turned their heads. They were all crowded around a bed looking at the Master Mage who slept soundly enough, or so it seemed.

"He's not…he's not…?" Hikaru couldn't finish.

"Not yet," Lantis said softly putting a hand on her shoulder as she cried into his chest gathering the folds of his clothes into her tiny fists.

Fuu walked to Ferio and took his hand as he squeezed hers reassuringly. Again Umi was left in the shadows but now it didn't seem to matter. She stumbled up to the bed reopening wounds as the blood began to trickle out, but everyone stayed silent when she knelt by him.

"Gomen," she whispered, "Please though you have to wake up. I'll never forgive myself if you don't," she smiled weakly.

"Umi," Fuu put a hand on her shoulder, and Umi looked up into the girl's dazzling emerald eyes, "Let me try."

Umi nodded weakly, slowly stood and walked out of the way.

Fuu raised her hands as they all waited anxiously.

Umi closed her eyes and tears streamed down her cheeks.

Hikaru slowly moved from Lantis and walked to Umi as the three Magic Knights stood around the bed, Umi on the right, Hikaru on the left, and Fuu in the middle. Umi and Hikaru closed their eyes as a blue and red light began to raise from them. Fuu closed her eyes as well and green engulfed her as she shouted, "Healing Wind!" all three beams of light shot into the spell causing a beautiful, green, blue and red wisp of air that shot into Clef and slowly absorbed into his body. He never flinched, and their hopes were shattered…

Slowly they all began to leave noticing that they were of no help. All they could do was pray and wait. Fuu, Hikaru and Ascot were the last people to leave.  

"Umi are you going to be okay?" Ascot asked unsure what to say. He felt hurt a bit by the way she looked at him; the way he wanted her to look at him.

She nodded, tired, but too worried to sleep, too worried to even speak.

"That doesn't seem fine!" Hikaru protested, and Umi looked up at her. Her eyes were weary, and an ocean raged inside them. They all knew that that same ocean was storming in her heart. She didn't see what they saw; she didn't see her own eyes. She couldn't know what she felt, she didn't understand it. They did; they understood everything. Slowly they began to leave. Fuu was the last of them to exit.

"Umi-san," her voice was pleading.

"Yes Fuu?" Umi could barely choke out the words.

"Don't hurt yourself okay? I don't know what I would do without you," she said softly then left leaving Umi feeling wanted as she lay against the chair in the corner and watched him sleep, if you could call that unconsciousness' a sleep.

She glared at him, "You better wake up. I swear if you don't…" she left it hang.

A slight smile curved on his lips, and she knew that somewhere he had heard her. She laid her head against the chair and slowly drifted to sleep. She dreamt for him to get well; it's all that was on her mind. She wanted him to get well, but she didn't know why she wanted it so badly. She assumed it was for Cephiro, but it went deeper much deeper.

She was startled awake when she felt gentle hands on hers; she jumped and looked up as she met dazzling blue eyes. What?! Her mind screamed as she leaped up almost knocking him down.

"Did you sleep there all night?" he asked, and she nodded rubbing her eyes trying to make sure he was real.

"H…how?" she stuttered.

"Cephiro is a land of will don't you remember?" he inquired gently, "You wanted me to get well badly enough and I did."

"But…" there was no need to argue, "Oh," she said instead.

"So did you sleep there all night?" he persisted ending the awkward silence.

She laughed hesitantly rubbing her neck where it panged slightly, "Well…yeah…sort of…"

"Sort of?"

"Yeah I didn't exactly sleep I kinda just waited," she explained, and he smiled.

"That's right you don't sleep do you?"

She grimaced and looked down.

"Gomen," he apologized, and she shook her head and looked back up.

"Oh God! The others! They're going to be so ecstatic!" she exclaimed and was about to bolt out and tell them, but he held her back.

"We have to talk," he told her dropping her wrist quickly.

"We do?" she tried to brush it off, but she knew precisely what about. He knew about her hidden feelings and was going to tell her how foolish she was.

"Sit," he instructed, and she took a seat on the edge of his bed as he sat close beside her, but not too close.

She didn't look at him; instead she let her head hang and her hair fall in her eyes.

He wanted to see them; he had to see them to say this, "Umi look up," he didn't realize how pleading his voice would sound until he said it.

She smiled and looked up, "So? What's up?" she questioned cheerily.

"I know," he sighed.

"Know what?" she was playing Hikaru as she looked down again.

"That you feel for someone…someone here in Cephiro," he began, and she winced, but he couldn't see.

She nodded weakly, and his heart shattered…