Chapter II: Familiar Faces
---------------------------------------
The pressure of the water pinned Noel several feet below the surface of the ocean. Noel opened his eyes to see what was happening, but the stinging salinity of the sea water promptly made him shut them. He tried to swim to the surface, but the current of the water was too great.
"What the hell?" thought Noel fantically as a few bubbles of air escaped his lips and floated to the surface. He began to struggle, thrashing wildly as if to free himself from invisible bonds. Noel's lungs screamed for fresh air, his glowing pendant dimmed with each passing second. Finally, unconsciousness over took him, a large stream of bubbles escaped from his mouth as his pendant ceased to glow.
Celine leaned as far over the boat's railing as she could without tumbling into the sea herself. The water had stopped swirling and she could make out the faint glow of Noel's emerald pendant. A minute passed, she panicked when she no longer could see it.
"Noel...I swear. You are going to owe me a new outfit after this," she muttered as she tossed her hat across the deck and kicked off her boots.
Noel awoke to a light breeze rustling his hair. He sat up in alarm...recalling the events that happened just moments earlier. He wondered, but soon gave up being unable to make sense of his teleportation from under water to land. He looked around him and sighed deeply at the surrounding beauty. The grassy knoll he sat atop slopped gently toward the lapping sea, a few evergreen trees dotted the landscape. It reminded him of a spot right outside of North City back on Energy Nede.
"This...looks so familar," Noel absently said aloud as he stood up.
"It should," a femine voice sounded behind him. He turned around.
"Chermes?!"
"Glad you still remember me." the woman smiled warmly.
"Wait..." Noel paused. "You're dead...that must mean I..." His ears drooped a little.
"Actually..." Chermes started. "I summoned you, you aren't technically dead. Just, a little."
"Huh?" Noel looked dumbfounded.
"To make things short...I've been watching you. You looked miserable...so, I figured I'd have a little chat. Unfortunately, nearly drowning you was the only option available..." Chermes' friendly demeanor turned dead serious.
"Well...I'm here. What is it?"
"First off, the whole moping around bit. 'I should have died with the rest of the nedians' and all that. Tria wanted you to live, you feel glad! I don't think 24 years is long enough for one to live..."
"It just didn't feel right. Since when did I become so special that out of a billion people only myself and Chisato got to live?" Noel looked down at the grass in guilt.
Chermes smiled and reached up to tilt Noel's chin up so that he was looking at her. "Noel. You've always been special to me. I can't stand to see you so depressed."
Noel took a step back and began to say something. A sharp pressure on his chest surprised him, interupted his thoughts. The serene backdrop of Nede melted away until they were both standing just inside the cabin of Celine's boat. Noel looked around and noticed to figures on the ground near the door, one being Celine and the other his lifeless body lying in a puddle with Celine over it. She seemed to be attempting a crude CPR of some sort that involved her repeatedly beating on his chest.
"To get to the point...you have two options," Chermes interrupted. "Either go back to the living...and stop dwelling on the past. Or....die here and come back with me to the afterlife."
"..."
"Whichever your choice, you'd better make it quick. Your body over there has been without oxygen for about 4 minutes. Another minute and perment brain damage will occur."
Noel looked over at Celine, who had now begun to slap his face in frustration. He put a hand to his now reddening cheek and turned to face Chermes.
"Chermes..." He looked over at Celine once more. "You're right, 24 years isn't hardly long enough to live. I'm sorry."
Chermes nodded, then faded away.
Noel's eyes snapped open and sat up with a start, covering his mouth as he coughed violently. A clear, crystaline liquid leaked through the cracks between his fingers, adding to the puddle of salt water presently on the floor. He wearily looked over at Celine, who's tear-stained face lost all expression to shock.
Noel drew in a deep, shuddering breath just before losing consciousness once again and landing face first into the wooden floor.