AN: Wow, I really must have been inspired... or something along those lines
^_^
--------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: Duh.
Hikage (The authoress): Well... Heh. In other words, I own Lilith, Yuuyami, Chemuk, Mikaa, Izumi, Meirei (I own my own planet... nifty!), and the Hellbender. Everyone and thing else is Square's. 'Cept the song. The song is Final Distance by Utada Hikaru.
--------------------------------------------------------
Guns don't kill people; death kills people. It's a proven medical fact.
--------------------------------------------------------
Shinjite|Believe
**
Chapter 03: Uso Mitaina Hikari ~ A False Light
----------------
"Come on!!!" Lilith grabbed Sora's arm and dragged him out the front doors of Hollow Bastion.
"Why are you desperate to get out of the building?" Leon asked, looking over his shoulder at the castle.
"Because..." Lilith started, her paces matching with disturbing accuracy to her spirit guide's speed. "Yuuyami's gonna bring Ansem back to life!"
Sora skid to a halt. "WHAT?!"
"Not now!" Lilith, with remarkable strength, lifted Sora right off his feet and tossed him atop Chemuk, who cleared the edge of the Castle Gates easily. The ground near Aerith exploded, and she screamed.
"What the hell is happening now?!" Cloud growled, helping Aerith to her feet.
~~Even though I worry about it, I can't ask~~
"Shit! A behemoth!" Lilith pointed to the roof, where the huge Heartless's horn sparked with deadly charge. And standing beside it, a smirk gracing his tan features, white trench coat flapping in the breeze, stood the father of all Heartless.
Lilith's hand went instinctively to her left cheek, but when Sephiroth tossed her a questioning glance, she removed it, remembering the blazing black and red symbol had disappeared from her cheek.
The Behemoth sent more lightning bolts raining down, this time aimed for the mage. Lilith was knocked off her feet, but rather than falling, she caught herself, and used a steady handspring to get herself back to her feet.
~~ I'm tired of swimming, and even you have become shy ~~
"Did you bring the Hellbender?!" Lilith shouted over the steady explosions to Aerith, who nodded.
"Yeah! Yuffie's onboard, waiting!""
"Hmm..." The redhead flicked her wrist out in front of her, and pulled one of the many silver bangles off of it.
"This is not time to be fixing your jewelry!" Sephiroth growled, flying nearby.
"And now is not the time to be accusing me off being chauvinistic!" Lilith twisted the bangle firmly, bending into unfixable shapelessness. It exploded into white light, and Lilith tossed it into the air, where a column of white light towered high above them.
First the sky seemed to blacken over, like a huge cloud had passed over them. But the "cloud" hummed steadily, and four huge engines sent a column of flame out behind it.
~~ I want to see you, but I never can, waves push us apart ~~
"The Hellbender..." Cloud stared.
"Come on!" Lilith, with practiced grace, jumped to the open hatch, and soon everyone was aboard.
"You wanna play those games... Well, mess with the best, die like the rest!" The Hellbender swung around with speed that you wouldn't associate to the huge ship, and several laser cannons unfolded from the wing, and Lilith opened fire.
The Behemoth went down, along with a good chunk of the roof. But Ansem was gone. "Damn him..." Sora growled, looking at the spot where his enemy once stood.
~~ Again, just a little more distance ~~
~§~
"It's a strain of Pneumonia, but it affects the lungs more heavily then normal. All it takes is..." Lilith ran out of one of the many bedroom-like quarters aboard her ship, and came back with a black case.
"Is?!" Leon growled, annoyed by the way Lilith was acting like Yuffie's sickness was a common cold.
"Oh chill lover boy, she'll be on her feet by the time we get to Destiny Islands." Leon sulked after her comment, and Lilith smirked at him.
She folded open the case, and within were many vials of liquids in every possible known color. "Hmm..." Lilith pulled out three, and dumped a little of each into a metal bowl. "And..." The mage pulled out another vial, but within was looked like crushed leaves, which she dumped into the metal bowl.
~~ We can't dismiss this if we want to keep it going baby ~~
"Drink." The Empress commanded, handing Yuffie the glass filled with the sugar pink liquid.
"Oi." Yuffie swallowed it, before hacking for almost a minute straight.
"Now, you rest." Lilith smiled, took the glass from her, and walked out of the room.
"So, now we go to Destiny Islands." Sephiroth stated, as Chemuk saw Sora's face light up.
~§
~~ If you don't feel the same then tell me ~~
"Well, where's your place?" Leon asked, looking around the beach,
"This world is so pretty!" Yuffie declared, feeling much better.
"Well, well, well... Long time no see, princess of heart." Lilith smirked, and Sora instantly looked up.
"Ka-Kairi?!" Sora stuttered, staring at the girl who looked down on the group with wide, surprised eyes. It had only been 6 months, but her hair was longer now, reaching her shoulders. Her indigo eyes sparkled with renewed hope.
"Sora."
~~ Even if you see only the slightest chance ~~
Kairi had her arms around Sora's neck, and Sora's arms around her waist, before her brain registered that she had moved. "SORA!!!" She shouted, tears running down her cheeks.
The guys all shook their heads at the display of emotion, and the three remaining girls all smiled sweetly. "Where have you been?!" She shouted, not removing her arms from his neck.
"Busy. Trying to find a way back here, and to find Riku." Sora looked down, and out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Chemuk hang her head, and Lilith cock her head to the side.
"What's up with Riku?" There was an awkward silence, and Lilith's eye twitched. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED WHILE I WAS GONE?!" With little effort, the empress grabbed Leon by his white shirt, and lifted him right off of his feet.
"WELL?!"
~~ Then it's okay to try for the big celebration ~~
"M'lady... he's gone." Chemuk whimpered, nudging Lilith in the shoulder.
"W-what?" Lilith's pale fists dropped Leon, and she turned on the assembled group. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"
"M'lady... Right after Ansem took you... Riku vanished into a black portal..."
"A black portal... of course. The energy signature I read in the corner of the Grand Hall..."
~~ I want to be with you now ~~
~§~
"So we're going back to Traverse Town?" Sephiroth questioned Chemuk, who nodded.
"Yeah. Lilith says she's gonna Astral Project from there and see if she can find Riku." Chemuk glanced over at her liege, who was leaning against the glass window, staring off into [Literal] space. Her eyes were glassed over, a distant, serene look on her face - like someone who had found peace inside emptiness.
They knew she would take the news of Riku's disappearance bad, but this outdid everyone's expectations. She never spoke, never moved - just stayed silent and distant.
~~ Believe in us together through the distance ~~
~§~
They gathered in the red room of the hotel, and Lilith sat in the middle of the floor, a determined looked on her face. The others all took seats around the room, Cloud, Chemuk, and Sephiroth sitting close to the girl.
~~ Now is the time ~~
Lilith closed her eyes, and clenched her hands together in front of her chest. The words came to her lips naturally, as they should.
"Gods of the sea,
Gods of the sky,
Guide me through Oblivion,
Where Angels Die."
Lilith felt her body go numb, an unpleasant tingling spreading slowly through her arms and down her legs. She went limp, falling forward. Cloud threw his arm around her waist, keeping the redhead from smashing her face on the floor.
"Good luck, Lilith-Chan."
~§~
~~ We can start over ~~
Lilith hit the ground rear-first, and prepared for the pain associated with her fall... it never came. She moved her hand to brush bangs from her eyes, and felt something tug on her wrist.
~~ Because I don't want to be alone ~~
"Wha?!" Nothing should be able to touch her without her consent. She then realized a gauzy, transparent, sparkly material was wrapped around her wrist, and billowed over her back and the stone pavement.
~~ Say it in words ~~
"A ghost... I got astral projected as a fuckin' GHOST!" Lilith gathered up the cloak that proved her "ghost-ness" and walked off the black stone road.
~~ One day, even the distance ~~
"Now where would..." Lilith glanced around, and spotted not Riku, but someone else she knew. "Izumi!" The empress hissed, watching her enemy walk into a B+B. "Heh!" Lilith dashed off after Izumi, invisible because of her ghost cape.
~~ Will embrace me, but I'll get used to it ~~
~§~
"Where's our 'GUEST'?!" Izumi growled, and Mikaa turned to face her younger sister angrily.
"He's in his room sleeping... Why?!" Izumi shot her sister a poison glance, and then disappeared around the corner.
~~ Because after all, I wanna be with you ~~
~§~
"Hehe." Lilith leaned against the front door, before phasing through it. "Hm? Hm?" The empress glanced around the room, before snickering and dashing up the stairs, leaving a mass of sparkles behind her.
~~ Can a single word hurt this much? ~~
"Hm..." She came face to face with two doors, and blinked. "Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo..." She recited the whole rhyme. Which ended on the door to the left. She then shrugged, and placed both her almost-see-through hands on the door. She phased through it, and then grinned.
~~ Teach me loneliness and then come back to me ~~
Her breath caught in her throat, and tears came to her eyes. Lying on the bed, above the blankets, was Riku. His silvery-blue hair had been freed from the ponytail to rest across the pillow. His cloak, shirt, and shoes were in a pile by the bed. (AN: Riku... shirtless... *drools*)
~~ You can't stop the time, keep on trying baby ~~
"Riku-kun..." Lilith smiled and glided over to the bed. She pulled the silver cloak off her head, making her visible as a slightly transparent person. The astral projected girl smiled sadly, and placed her hands on Riku's cheeks.
~~ I can't promise but trust me ~~
His eyes flashed open, and she jumped backwards soundlessly, cloak clutched in one hand. Riku sat up, and his eyes locked on the intruder.
~~ Even if you see only the slightest chance ~~
"Li-Lilith?!"
~~ Then it's okay to try for the big celebration ~~
He jumped to his feet and the empress dropped her cloak, ran up to him, before leaning against his chest, standing on her tippy-toes, and pressing her finger against his lips. "SHHH! I'm only Astral Projecting... If anyone besides the target sees me, then I instantly vanish!!"
~~ I wanna be with you now ~~
"Oh." Riku rested his hands and her shoulders, as she choked back a sob. He could feel her petite frame quivering, as if she was weak.
~~ Fix your eyes on us in through the distance ~~
"We're looking for the door to the light... Sora and Kairi are working with us... The walls are down again... Ansem's been revived..." Lilith looked away, and a single silver tear ran down her cheek.
~~ Now is the time ~~
Riku's eyes widened, but he pulled her into a hug. "Lil... I have faith in you to find my way outta here." Se tightened her grip on his back, and rested her head against his chest.
~~ We can start over ~~
"Riku... I've got to go." She whimpered.
~~ Because I don't want to be alone ~~
"No!" He growled, firmly holding her close.
~~ Say it in words ~~
"Riku-kun..."
~~ One day, even the distance ~~
She felt the wings blossom from her back, a sign that she would soon have to return to her world. The huge angel wings, gold and red and orange, just like flames, didn't seem to faze the teenage islander.
~~ Will embrace me, but I'll get used to it ~~
Riku grabbed the redhead by her arm. "Promise... Promise you'll come back to me."
~~ Because after all, I wanna be with you ~~
"Riku-kun..." Lilith smiled, and freed her arm from his tight grip, and then she wrapped her cloak around her arms and waist, like an elaborate shawl. The air in the room started to stir, moving upwards.
~~ I wanna be with you now ~~
"Riku..." Lilith flapped the wings and lifted into the air, before placing her hands on Riku's cheeks, and pulling her face close to his.
~~ Cause I know this can't be forever ~~
"I will..." The empress kissed the islander gently and sadly... a final parting.
~~ We can start over, just you and me ~~
-- And then she vanished. --
~~ I wanna be with you now ~~
Riku smirked in pure irony. The room had a faint smell of jasmine, and a solitary blood red feather sat upon his floor. Riku picked it up, and placed it next to Lilith's pendant. His turned to face the middle of the room, and close his eyes, imagining the redhead as she had when he first had seen her. He sighed, opened his eyes halfway, and then dropped onto his bed, only to fall into a restless sleep.
~~ Cause I know this can't be forever ~~
Lilith's teal eyes flickered open, and she realized she was in the Red Room in Traverse Town's hotel. She stifled a sob, and buried her face in her pillow.
~~ We should stay together, just you and me ~~
Chemuk stood up from the corner, and nuzzled her. The wolf whispered quietly to herself, "I knew it was a mistake."
~~ I wanna be with you ~~
---------------------------------------
AN: Eesh. This took a LOT longer then I expected to finish.... GOMEN!!!
--------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: Duh.
Hikage (The authoress): Well... Heh. In other words, I own Lilith, Yuuyami, Chemuk, Mikaa, Izumi, Meirei (I own my own planet... nifty!), and the Hellbender. Everyone and thing else is Square's. 'Cept the song. The song is Final Distance by Utada Hikaru.
--------------------------------------------------------
Guns don't kill people; death kills people. It's a proven medical fact.
--------------------------------------------------------
Shinjite|Believe
**
Chapter 03: Uso Mitaina Hikari ~ A False Light
----------------
"Come on!!!" Lilith grabbed Sora's arm and dragged him out the front doors of Hollow Bastion.
"Why are you desperate to get out of the building?" Leon asked, looking over his shoulder at the castle.
"Because..." Lilith started, her paces matching with disturbing accuracy to her spirit guide's speed. "Yuuyami's gonna bring Ansem back to life!"
Sora skid to a halt. "WHAT?!"
"Not now!" Lilith, with remarkable strength, lifted Sora right off his feet and tossed him atop Chemuk, who cleared the edge of the Castle Gates easily. The ground near Aerith exploded, and she screamed.
"What the hell is happening now?!" Cloud growled, helping Aerith to her feet.
~~Even though I worry about it, I can't ask~~
"Shit! A behemoth!" Lilith pointed to the roof, where the huge Heartless's horn sparked with deadly charge. And standing beside it, a smirk gracing his tan features, white trench coat flapping in the breeze, stood the father of all Heartless.
Lilith's hand went instinctively to her left cheek, but when Sephiroth tossed her a questioning glance, she removed it, remembering the blazing black and red symbol had disappeared from her cheek.
The Behemoth sent more lightning bolts raining down, this time aimed for the mage. Lilith was knocked off her feet, but rather than falling, she caught herself, and used a steady handspring to get herself back to her feet.
~~ I'm tired of swimming, and even you have become shy ~~
"Did you bring the Hellbender?!" Lilith shouted over the steady explosions to Aerith, who nodded.
"Yeah! Yuffie's onboard, waiting!""
"Hmm..." The redhead flicked her wrist out in front of her, and pulled one of the many silver bangles off of it.
"This is not time to be fixing your jewelry!" Sephiroth growled, flying nearby.
"And now is not the time to be accusing me off being chauvinistic!" Lilith twisted the bangle firmly, bending into unfixable shapelessness. It exploded into white light, and Lilith tossed it into the air, where a column of white light towered high above them.
First the sky seemed to blacken over, like a huge cloud had passed over them. But the "cloud" hummed steadily, and four huge engines sent a column of flame out behind it.
~~ I want to see you, but I never can, waves push us apart ~~
"The Hellbender..." Cloud stared.
"Come on!" Lilith, with practiced grace, jumped to the open hatch, and soon everyone was aboard.
"You wanna play those games... Well, mess with the best, die like the rest!" The Hellbender swung around with speed that you wouldn't associate to the huge ship, and several laser cannons unfolded from the wing, and Lilith opened fire.
The Behemoth went down, along with a good chunk of the roof. But Ansem was gone. "Damn him..." Sora growled, looking at the spot where his enemy once stood.
~~ Again, just a little more distance ~~
~§~
"It's a strain of Pneumonia, but it affects the lungs more heavily then normal. All it takes is..." Lilith ran out of one of the many bedroom-like quarters aboard her ship, and came back with a black case.
"Is?!" Leon growled, annoyed by the way Lilith was acting like Yuffie's sickness was a common cold.
"Oh chill lover boy, she'll be on her feet by the time we get to Destiny Islands." Leon sulked after her comment, and Lilith smirked at him.
She folded open the case, and within were many vials of liquids in every possible known color. "Hmm..." Lilith pulled out three, and dumped a little of each into a metal bowl. "And..." The mage pulled out another vial, but within was looked like crushed leaves, which she dumped into the metal bowl.
~~ We can't dismiss this if we want to keep it going baby ~~
"Drink." The Empress commanded, handing Yuffie the glass filled with the sugar pink liquid.
"Oi." Yuffie swallowed it, before hacking for almost a minute straight.
"Now, you rest." Lilith smiled, took the glass from her, and walked out of the room.
"So, now we go to Destiny Islands." Sephiroth stated, as Chemuk saw Sora's face light up.
~§
~~ If you don't feel the same then tell me ~~
"Well, where's your place?" Leon asked, looking around the beach,
"This world is so pretty!" Yuffie declared, feeling much better.
"Well, well, well... Long time no see, princess of heart." Lilith smirked, and Sora instantly looked up.
"Ka-Kairi?!" Sora stuttered, staring at the girl who looked down on the group with wide, surprised eyes. It had only been 6 months, but her hair was longer now, reaching her shoulders. Her indigo eyes sparkled with renewed hope.
"Sora."
~~ Even if you see only the slightest chance ~~
Kairi had her arms around Sora's neck, and Sora's arms around her waist, before her brain registered that she had moved. "SORA!!!" She shouted, tears running down her cheeks.
The guys all shook their heads at the display of emotion, and the three remaining girls all smiled sweetly. "Where have you been?!" She shouted, not removing her arms from his neck.
"Busy. Trying to find a way back here, and to find Riku." Sora looked down, and out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Chemuk hang her head, and Lilith cock her head to the side.
"What's up with Riku?" There was an awkward silence, and Lilith's eye twitched. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED WHILE I WAS GONE?!" With little effort, the empress grabbed Leon by his white shirt, and lifted him right off of his feet.
"WELL?!"
~~ Then it's okay to try for the big celebration ~~
"M'lady... he's gone." Chemuk whimpered, nudging Lilith in the shoulder.
"W-what?" Lilith's pale fists dropped Leon, and she turned on the assembled group. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"
"M'lady... Right after Ansem took you... Riku vanished into a black portal..."
"A black portal... of course. The energy signature I read in the corner of the Grand Hall..."
~~ I want to be with you now ~~
~§~
"So we're going back to Traverse Town?" Sephiroth questioned Chemuk, who nodded.
"Yeah. Lilith says she's gonna Astral Project from there and see if she can find Riku." Chemuk glanced over at her liege, who was leaning against the glass window, staring off into [Literal] space. Her eyes were glassed over, a distant, serene look on her face - like someone who had found peace inside emptiness.
They knew she would take the news of Riku's disappearance bad, but this outdid everyone's expectations. She never spoke, never moved - just stayed silent and distant.
~~ Believe in us together through the distance ~~
~§~
They gathered in the red room of the hotel, and Lilith sat in the middle of the floor, a determined looked on her face. The others all took seats around the room, Cloud, Chemuk, and Sephiroth sitting close to the girl.
~~ Now is the time ~~
Lilith closed her eyes, and clenched her hands together in front of her chest. The words came to her lips naturally, as they should.
"Gods of the sea,
Gods of the sky,
Guide me through Oblivion,
Where Angels Die."
Lilith felt her body go numb, an unpleasant tingling spreading slowly through her arms and down her legs. She went limp, falling forward. Cloud threw his arm around her waist, keeping the redhead from smashing her face on the floor.
"Good luck, Lilith-Chan."
~§~
~~ We can start over ~~
Lilith hit the ground rear-first, and prepared for the pain associated with her fall... it never came. She moved her hand to brush bangs from her eyes, and felt something tug on her wrist.
~~ Because I don't want to be alone ~~
"Wha?!" Nothing should be able to touch her without her consent. She then realized a gauzy, transparent, sparkly material was wrapped around her wrist, and billowed over her back and the stone pavement.
~~ Say it in words ~~
"A ghost... I got astral projected as a fuckin' GHOST!" Lilith gathered up the cloak that proved her "ghost-ness" and walked off the black stone road.
~~ One day, even the distance ~~
"Now where would..." Lilith glanced around, and spotted not Riku, but someone else she knew. "Izumi!" The empress hissed, watching her enemy walk into a B+B. "Heh!" Lilith dashed off after Izumi, invisible because of her ghost cape.
~~ Will embrace me, but I'll get used to it ~~
~§~
"Where's our 'GUEST'?!" Izumi growled, and Mikaa turned to face her younger sister angrily.
"He's in his room sleeping... Why?!" Izumi shot her sister a poison glance, and then disappeared around the corner.
~~ Because after all, I wanna be with you ~~
~§~
"Hehe." Lilith leaned against the front door, before phasing through it. "Hm? Hm?" The empress glanced around the room, before snickering and dashing up the stairs, leaving a mass of sparkles behind her.
~~ Can a single word hurt this much? ~~
"Hm..." She came face to face with two doors, and blinked. "Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo..." She recited the whole rhyme. Which ended on the door to the left. She then shrugged, and placed both her almost-see-through hands on the door. She phased through it, and then grinned.
~~ Teach me loneliness and then come back to me ~~
Her breath caught in her throat, and tears came to her eyes. Lying on the bed, above the blankets, was Riku. His silvery-blue hair had been freed from the ponytail to rest across the pillow. His cloak, shirt, and shoes were in a pile by the bed. (AN: Riku... shirtless... *drools*)
~~ You can't stop the time, keep on trying baby ~~
"Riku-kun..." Lilith smiled and glided over to the bed. She pulled the silver cloak off her head, making her visible as a slightly transparent person. The astral projected girl smiled sadly, and placed her hands on Riku's cheeks.
~~ I can't promise but trust me ~~
His eyes flashed open, and she jumped backwards soundlessly, cloak clutched in one hand. Riku sat up, and his eyes locked on the intruder.
~~ Even if you see only the slightest chance ~~
"Li-Lilith?!"
~~ Then it's okay to try for the big celebration ~~
He jumped to his feet and the empress dropped her cloak, ran up to him, before leaning against his chest, standing on her tippy-toes, and pressing her finger against his lips. "SHHH! I'm only Astral Projecting... If anyone besides the target sees me, then I instantly vanish!!"
~~ I wanna be with you now ~~
"Oh." Riku rested his hands and her shoulders, as she choked back a sob. He could feel her petite frame quivering, as if she was weak.
~~ Fix your eyes on us in through the distance ~~
"We're looking for the door to the light... Sora and Kairi are working with us... The walls are down again... Ansem's been revived..." Lilith looked away, and a single silver tear ran down her cheek.
~~ Now is the time ~~
Riku's eyes widened, but he pulled her into a hug. "Lil... I have faith in you to find my way outta here." Se tightened her grip on his back, and rested her head against his chest.
~~ We can start over ~~
"Riku... I've got to go." She whimpered.
~~ Because I don't want to be alone ~~
"No!" He growled, firmly holding her close.
~~ Say it in words ~~
"Riku-kun..."
~~ One day, even the distance ~~
She felt the wings blossom from her back, a sign that she would soon have to return to her world. The huge angel wings, gold and red and orange, just like flames, didn't seem to faze the teenage islander.
~~ Will embrace me, but I'll get used to it ~~
Riku grabbed the redhead by her arm. "Promise... Promise you'll come back to me."
~~ Because after all, I wanna be with you ~~
"Riku-kun..." Lilith smiled, and freed her arm from his tight grip, and then she wrapped her cloak around her arms and waist, like an elaborate shawl. The air in the room started to stir, moving upwards.
~~ I wanna be with you now ~~
"Riku..." Lilith flapped the wings and lifted into the air, before placing her hands on Riku's cheeks, and pulling her face close to his.
~~ Cause I know this can't be forever ~~
"I will..." The empress kissed the islander gently and sadly... a final parting.
~~ We can start over, just you and me ~~
-- And then she vanished. --
~~ I wanna be with you now ~~
Riku smirked in pure irony. The room had a faint smell of jasmine, and a solitary blood red feather sat upon his floor. Riku picked it up, and placed it next to Lilith's pendant. His turned to face the middle of the room, and close his eyes, imagining the redhead as she had when he first had seen her. He sighed, opened his eyes halfway, and then dropped onto his bed, only to fall into a restless sleep.
~~ Cause I know this can't be forever ~~
Lilith's teal eyes flickered open, and she realized she was in the Red Room in Traverse Town's hotel. She stifled a sob, and buried her face in her pillow.
~~ We should stay together, just you and me ~~
Chemuk stood up from the corner, and nuzzled her. The wolf whispered quietly to herself, "I knew it was a mistake."
~~ I wanna be with you ~~
---------------------------------------
AN: Eesh. This took a LOT longer then I expected to finish.... GOMEN!!!