. . . . .come on fhqwhgads, come on fhqwhgads. Everybody to the limit, the cheat's to the limit-oh! Sorry. Anyone who's been to homestarrunner.com knows this song. Stuck in my head.

I'd like to thank my one reviewer (ahem). Glad you like it. Here, have a smoothie. Anyways, on to my chappie!

I blinked sleepily, confused.

"Len? What's wrong?" What would she be doing here in the middle of the night on a Sunday?

"Can I come in?" she asked nervously, and glanced over her shoulder. "Please?"

I nodded, and backed away from the open door. "Yeah. Sure, of course."

I led her into the kitchen, and flipped on the light. I gaped at what I failed to notice in the lack of light.

Jelena had a long cut from right under her right eye, across her nose, right to below her left ear. It oozed dark blood.

"Holy shit, Len!" I nearly screamed as I scrambled to a cabinet for antiseptic. "What the hell happened?"

She just smiled gravely at me.

"Len, come on. What happened?" I pleaded as I scrambled over with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball mass. I picked one up, and she stared at it suspiciously.

"It's just water," I lied. She nodded, and allowed me to press it to her face, but promptly shrieked and jumped back. I rolled my eyes.

"You are such a wimp. Unless you want me to drive you to the hospital and make a really big deal out of it, you had better get back on this stool, let me finish, and tell me what happened!" She nodded again, and obeyed.

"Well, Tsu," she began, her voice so quiet I could barely hear her. "You know I'm not clumsy enough to do this. Mike went a little . . . . . . .mad . . . . "

I dropped the cotton ball I was holding. "iMikei did this? Wh-wh- why?"

"We were at his apartment after dinner, and he got a little. . . .tired of waiting."

I stared at her, shocked. Mike was her fiancé of seven months. Jelena was a firm believer in abstinence, and we all knew Mike was a bit anxious, but I never, ever thought he would resort to something like that.

"He tried to. . . . " I couldn't finish what I was saying. She nodded.

"I knew I wouldn't be safe at home, so I came here." She stopped, and a wild look came into her eyes. "I've gotta get away from here. He'll find me. I gotta get far, far away. . . ."

"Shhhhh...." I said, spreading a coat of clear wound sealer over her gash. "You'll spend the night here, and we'll figure out what to do in the morning.

The tears finally began falling.

"I can't believe he would do this," she choked. I embraced her and stroked her hair, making soft shushing noises.

". . . . . . . .I should have seen the signs," she continued. "He kept bugging me about it. But I didn't think he was violent. He's a doctor, for Pete's sake!"

She kept on in this vein until she had no more tears. She looked up from my soaked shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Tsu. You don't need this right now. . . . . ." she sighed. I shook my head.

"No, no Len," I assured her. "What are sisters for?"

And with that, I led her to the guest bedroom. I was exhausted, and she must have been even more than I was.

I woke up in the morning to find Mom and Aunt Len in the family room, talking about something serious. They both looked horrible, like they had been awake all night.

"I don't know, that might be a bit extreme-oh! Hi sweetie," my mother greeted me. I blinked.

"Hold on. Aunt Len, whatcha doin' over this early? It's only seven!"

"I spent the night," she answered, in a tone that clearly indicated she didn't want to talk about it. I nodded, and gasped as I spotted a long angry scar on her face.

"Wh-what happened, Aunt Len?" She opened her mouth to say something about how I was too young, or it was too complicated to understand.

"I have a right to know," I stopped her. "I'm your equal in everything else, but when something important comes up, I'm cast aside because I'm 'too young'!"

Aunt Len and Mom looked a little ashamed. Finally my auntie spoke.

"Last night, Mike made an attempt on me that didn't go well."

My eyes widened as this sunk in, and I was filled with a blinding rage.

"I"LL KILL THAT BASTARD! HE"LL WISH HE HAD NEVER BEEN BORN! I"LL-"

"Melissa, calm down!" I think I heard my mother say. I continued my rant anyways.

"-AND SHOVE IT DOWN HIS THROAT!" They both winced at that.

"IF I SEE HIM EVER, EVER AGAIN I'LL PUT MY FOOT UP HIS ASS SO FAR IT'LL COME OUTTA HIS NOSE!" I finished, with my mother and my aunt staring at me.

"It's too bad you're too big to go over my knee, Mel, because that is not something to say in front of me."

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

I blushed. "Um, yeah, sorry. Anyways, what were you guys talking about before I came in?"

". . . . . . an escape spell," Aunt Len said quietly. "It isn't safe for me here anymore."

My eyes stretched until they felt like saucers. "To where?"

"Where he or his friends can't find me. And seeing as how he's friends with seemingly every doctor, I think I'll have to go pretty far."

"We'll see you often though, right?" I said, hopefully, but I knew I was being naïve.

"Honestly, Mel, it's doubtful I'll ever see you two again," she barely whispered.

Surprisingly, I didn't start crying. I smiled weakly.

"I want to help," I said decisively. She nodded.

"Right. Of course you can. Your mother will."

And with that fake smile on my face, I turned to get ready for school.

"You're not going to school today," my mother said as soon as I thought about it, as though I had said it out loud. I nodded, but left to get ready for the day nevertheless.

I glanced at my sworn sister. She had tears running down her face, similar to the way they ran down mine.

"I still might see you again," I said hopefully. She shook her head.

"Don't get my hopes up, Jelena," she said sorrowfully. I flinched.

"It's all my fault," I whispered. Tsu looked up at me.

"How? How is it your fault you have to leave?" she asked, almost angrily. I shifted on the overstuffed couch we sat on.

". . . . . I was the one who agreed to marry Mike. I was the one who insisted on abstaining. I was the one who got myself into trouble with him, and I was the one who chose to run here and be a coward."

"How was that cowardice?" she demanded, eyes flaring. I couldn't believe we were arguing over this, but I never backed down in an argument.

"I could have stayed at home, and waited for him to come for me, and dealt with the confrontation!"

"That wouldn't have been ibraveryi Jelena, it would have been stupidity!" she yelled, her face slightly flushed. "You have such a hero- complex, don't you?!? You always take the blame, never accept it might have not been YOUR FAULT!"

"HERO?" I cried. "HERO? DO YOU THINK THERE ARE HEROS ANYMORE, TSU? THEY ALL DIED OUT A LONG, LONG TIME AGO, LIKE THE BELIEF IN MAGIC. YOU'RE SO NAÏVE, YOU CAN'T EVEN ACCEPT THE FACT THAT HUMANITY ISN'T PERFECT AND SOMEONE WILL COME AND SAVE THE DAY! THERE ARE NO HEROS, AND I'M DEFINITELY NOT ONE!"

"HOW ARE YOU NOT? YOU'VE TAKEN HUNDREDS OF CHILDREN UNDER YOUR WING AND TAUGHT THEM GOLD, JELENA! YOU'VE TAKEN CARE OF HURT ANIMALS SINCE THE AGE OF SIX! YOU RAISED ENOUGH MONEY TO SAVE YOUR MOTHER FROM CANCER JUST FROM BABY-SITTING AND SMALL DONATIONS! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO TOLD ME THAT EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE BORN TO SOMEONE IT DOESN'T MEAN YOU'RE THEIR CHILD! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO CONVINCED ME TO ADOPT INSTEAD OF TAKING ALL OF THE RESPONSIBILITES OF AN INFANT ON AT AGE NINETEEN! DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE NOT A HERO, JELENA B'KOLV!"

I slumped back on the couch. I hadn't even realized I had stood up.

"I don't wanna fight right now," I said quietly. "I'm going to be leaving soon. I don't want to be this the last thing I remember of us. Fighting. We never fight."

She fell down next to me. "You're right. What was that all about?" We giggled.

"What was all the yelling about?" Melissa asked, appearing out of nowhere again, wearing shorts and a tank top that said 'Stop whining; that's my job'. She had plaited her hair tightly.

"Miss Len here doesn't think she's a hero," she said cockily, now that Melissa was here. Her adopted daughter raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, really?" She smirked at me. What was going on?

"Aunt Len, do you remember the time Mom was in Chicago for a business meeting, and you were taking care of me?" I nodded slowly, and she continued. "And I was going for my overnight trip to L.A?" I nodded again. "But Mom had forgotten to give me the check so I could go. I spent the morning of when I was supposed to leave with my class bawling. You finally got me to tell you what happened, paid the seventy-five bucks without hesitating, and even chased down the bus so I could go."

She beamed at me, and I started blushing heavily.

"And that other time when Mom was sick, you were all mother-like on us, flittering around like a little bird. She got better quick, though, 'cuz of you. . . . ."

"And what about when I had just adopted Melissa, and you gave me the information on dealing with nine-year-olds. Oh, speaking of that, your mother has said you were an angel child, always helping out with your siblings and chores."

"So, what just are you trying to say?" I demanded. They grinned.

"You're a hero, hon!" they chirped in unison. I blushed again, and stood up. I hated being embarrassed. I mean, nobody likes it, but. . . . . .

"Kay, well, I'ma go take a shower and clean up," I said quickly, and that was the end of that.

After my shower, dressing( white sneakers, flares, and a tank with a kitty on it), I had to struggle with my hair. It was very thick, and knotty. I had a lot of my own things here, just in case, like my brush. The head broke off from it, and it was solid wood.

I just grumbled as I disentangled it from my hair, and all of my other knots as well. I left it down to dry, and left the bathroom.

Spell casting time neared.

I have never been so unwilling to cast magic in my life. Never. But I know it's for the greater good. It's going to help Len, so why am I so. . . . . .reluctant?

I'm being selfish. But Jelena is the closest, best friend I'll ever have. I know her as well as the back of my hand. And the front of my hand. And every single vein that runs through my hand, every single drop of blood that runs through my hand. She knows me just as well, if not better.

Jelena and I met when I was seven. I had just moved from Minnesota to Lodi, and the changes in atmosphere were almost too much to bear.

She lived across the street from me. The first time I saw her, she was wading in a small pool in her yard. She saw me, sitting on the steps, and jogged over, looking at me curiously.

"Who are you?" she asked, not at all shyly.

"Tsunami Inaroshi," I answered. "Who are you?"

"I'm Jelena B'kolv," she announced, grinning widely, and revealing two missing front teeth. I noticed the large white slash-like mark across her torso, but said nothing.

After that, our friendship bonded.

Melissa was in the room again, putting me out of my thoughts. I was used to her silent walking, but it was still creepy at times.

"Mom," she whispered, and we understood each others' thoughts. I hugged her tightly. Why did today have to be so sorrowful?

"I have to go back to my house," Len said suddenly, sticking her head into the living room. "To get things I might need for. . . . . wherever I might end up."

I jumped up immediately. "You think you're going there alone?"

"I have to," she said quietly. "It's something I need to do alone."

I could understand. Closure. It's what I wanted from Mark.

"Hm," I said thoughtfully. They both looked at me curiously. "What is it with men whose names starts with 'M'?"

Okay. So a bit longer this time. Anyways, I couldn't find a decent place to stop it, so I did it there. Sorry it took so long to update, our telephone was down and I couldn't get it up. Please review? Let me know that someone's reading my story!

Another reason I took so long is I came up with an answer to the Schala question. I'm very proud, it's very original.

Thanks! Love and peace!