Author's Note: I guess you can say this is building up to one of the last chapters, because this is the whole Nivora Ravine deal. ^^ Unless I follow one of my ideas for what comes after this thingy.


Spending the next two days or so completely in thought, laying within the bed Mrs. Usha had set up in a guest room for him, Vahn thought that being cooped up inside of the Usha Research Center wouldn't be so bad after all. He wasn't near a window to see the Flying Castle out of, which only brought a squirming pain to the pit of his stomach.

Noa seemed excited about staying here, because she was getting information from all of the scientists that she pretended to soak up -- he bet it went in one ear and slipped right out the other end without rattling her brain. Mrs. Usha also enjoyed the company while she was making meals and didn't quite mind her curious sniffing and poking at foods.

Gala was ... well, Gala. He spent time in his own room meditating or training, and came out when needed. Vahn suspected that he was still very upset about what Songi had done to Uru Mais and the many bodies of Tieg, and at the same time acted that he still despised him. For some reason, he didn't feel the same way about Gi ... that feeling that your love for someone runs so deep, but never reached their heart because it was so heavy with animosity. Funny how he thought Gi hated him so much, but in actuality he had never done anything more than reduce him to a puddle of mush just by looking at him.

*Stop giving me these ideas that maybe you don't hate me after all...*

Somewhere around midnight, Vahn thrashed over in his bed and stared at the wall. He couldn't sleep no matter how hard he tried, because he was afraid he'd have some sort of dream about him, and when he did close his eyes, images of the two in a love-ridden embrace would appear.

This shouldn't have been happening at all ... because the heroes of Legaia should not be queer. Those who bear the Ra-Seru should not be turning against their mission and locking their sights onto the enemies, or even think anything else besides 'die, you heartless bastard'. And Vahn, who was quite popular back home at Rim Elm, should not be queer at all. He should save the world of the Mist and return to Mei, who was waiting for him with open arms and feelings long suppressed.

But that's not the way things worked now. He had forgotten all about Mei and his family and neighbors until now, and didn't feel the slightest pang of loneliness when he remembered their faces. He did when he thought of Gi, however -- and that was almost every second. The pain had become constant and usual now, so needless to say he was used to it already. If this wonderfully horrible ache was to somehow be relieved, then he wouldn't be too accustomed to that...

How could it be taken away, anyway? If he knew that Gi felt the same way, which he was beginning to hope for ( now he didn't think he could live with his affection being countered by hatred ), if somehow he died right now without having anything said ... He could have made a list, but he was too emotionally drained to even move. And while he was thinking all of this, his problems only added up when Meta decided to tune in and give his thought on it.

*Hmm ... you're simply falling apart, Vahn.* He could feel the muscles in his face tighten up into a frown. *If only you didn't feel this way, you'd be so much healthier without him ... you wouldn't be delaying this so much. You're putting aside the fate of the world for your own personal needs!*

And that's when his hands clenched into fists to the point where the veins in his wrists popped up, and his prone form shook with fury. "SHUT UP!" he screamed into the silence.

His nerves eased and his expression wilted, into that of a depression far below the one he had been in before. *Just keep your stupid self out of my business, Meta. You're attached like a leech to my arm only to help me revive the Genesis Trees, and that's all you should be concerned about. And while you're basically being invisible until you need to be, keep out of the only working portion of my brain.*

Not regretting a word that he had said, rather thinking that he had proved that all Ra-Serus weren't helpful in all aspects of life, he turned over in bed to nuzzle his pillow. For the first time in too long, his eyes slowly closed and he drifted into a peaceful sleep that wasn't plagued with thoughts of Gi at all.

* * * *
The following morning, he was in a better mood and felt more well-rested than he had in a long time. He noticed that Meta was not the usual color of blood that had just been given oxygen, but rather a deeper sort of crimson that looked brown from afar. Like he cared anymore. Before Noa could dash in and drag him out of bed, nearly pulling his arms from their sockets in the process, he decided to get up himself.

His mind wasn't working too well all of a sudden, in the first few moments one experiences after they awake. In the absence of a dream, his right hand unlocked from its position beside him and reached over to the space beside his left shoulder. All the room was on the left side, seeing as he had been nearly bunched against the wall where the bed was set, and where he expected someone to be laying. Not unlike his usual wake-up call, the lazy something of a smile crashed down hard when all he touched was his pillow and not a patch of warm, smooth flesh.

Ah yes, angst at no more than nine in the morning. Every morning he wondered who he expected to be laying there, and every morning he knew the answer. It was just a matter of not facing the facts. Figuring it wasn't healthy for him to just lay there pining over someone he knew would never be his, he kicked back the covers and turned his legs so that they dangled over the edge of the bed and weighed him down to the floor.

Colors shifted before his eyes, blotches of black and gray appearing in the corners of what he could see. He rubbed them hard with the heels of his palms until everything came back into focus, and stood up firm. No more crumbling today for Vahn, now that the morning session was over. Before he could take another step, the door burst inward and in rushed Noa, flailing her arms with her usual abundance of energy. "Good morning, Vahn!" she giggled, taking a bound forward and grabbing his hands. "You caught on already! At least I don't have to pull you out of bed again. Come out and see the bombs!" Before he could protest, her grip tightened and she dragged him from the bedroom, past some lab technicians who smiled and waved to them, and into the main laboratory.

On top of the table sat the four complete TimeSpace Bombs, one being patted and stroked gently by Dr. Usha. He looked proud of them, by the way his tired face was pulled up into a wide smile. They were bigger than he thought they would be, and a rather blatant but dark purple with a blue-painted steel disk around the fuse. Just by looking at it, he thought that they would be more than enough to destroy Koru, unless it was -that- enormous. And this was going to blow up the ice barrier in front of Nivora Ravine? He assumed it'd blow up half the caverns and the flying debris would destroy the rest.

"What do you think, Vahn?" Dr. Usha asked around his smile, making it look as natural as breathing. "We put our hearts and souls into making them and didn't finish until just a few hours ago." Vahn tried his best to smile in mock-amazement while staring at the bombs. Their purpose was to blow up two things ... he didn't expect them to look like a work of art if they were going to explode into a chaos of flames and smoke. "They're ... really great," he said stupidly, nodding.
Dr. Usha clapped him merrily on the shoulder so hard that he stumbled a bit. "I'm glad you like them!" he exclaimed. "It seems your friends are eager to go, so I think you should go while it's still early. Best of luck to you all." He looked again to the bombs -- one was missing. Noa was probably halfway across the field already with it in her arms. Wondering also where Gala was, he slid one off the table and into both arms. He took a second one and stumbled again beneath the extra weight. As he ambled to the door, they barely fit through, but thankfully Gala was standing right there to stop him.

He took one bomb and retrieved the other ("Nothing ... stops a warrior of Biron!" he found himself grunting later while he carried both on his shoulders) from the table. They found Noa on the lower lever cradling the remaining bomb, bouncing excitedly. "Let's go!" she said, turning and running as if she hadn't been carrying anything so heavy.

* * * *
The walk from the research center to Nivora Ravine was long, tiring, and probably pointless. They had been walking for at least an hour an half -- though it seemed double that -- when the swirling blue skies disappeared beneath the raised walls that surrounded the entrance to Nivora Ravine, and the rippling green grass under their feet turned to cold, gray stone. A shimmering barrier of ice was blocking the only path into the caverns that they guessed lead up into the mountain and where Koru was.

Vahn drew in a breath, eyeing the barrier, having thoughts of "Are we really going to do this?" and "What if we lose?" or "Will I really have to fight him?" running loose within his head. Whatever they had to do, the trek through the caverns would hopefully be a long one, and he could walk slowly. Anything that would delay his next meeting with Gi.

"We're finally here," he said, words entangled with a ragged sigh that could have brought tears to anyone's eyes. Noa, who had been standing patiently at his side, took her bomb and raced to the barrier with it. Before they could stop her, she had planted it and the fuse began to burn down.

With the force of a rocket taking off in their faces, the bomb exploded and sent all three of them flying backwards. Vahn hit a stone wall some distance back, tidal waves of pain rushing up and down his spine. Frozen partisans scattered everywhere as well as rock from the cave walls, some stabbing down at the ground or like throwing darts into the walls close to them. When the dust cleared and the ravine stopped shaking, they got to their feet and looked at the giant hole that the bomb had created.

Vahn knew just by the way that Noa looked at it, crunched over like a spring waiting to be released, that she was eager to dash in and kick some butt. He stopped her before any thoughts could click into her mind. "Noa, listen to me," he said. She turned around to face him with the most innocent of facial expressions. "I really hope you know what will happen if we win ... and if we lose. If we win, -they- die. She's going to die because there will be no more Mist. Do you understand me?"

Her eyes suddenly expanded, allowing moisture to gather at the bottoms, shimmering ... daring him to say another word about it. "I understand," she replied in a quivering voice. "But we have to do this, Vahn! All of Karisto needs us. We can't let them slow us down, even ... even if we have to..." A single tear escaped her eye and journeyed down her cheek, which he quickly caught and brushed away.

If everything went well, and their pride and devotion to Zora wasn't as strong as they hoped it was, Vahn thought he had a plan. "All we have to do is destroy that one Seru, then," he told her as her gaze drifted back to the cave entrance. "We'll see what we can do when we get there, but until then, don't worry about it. All right?" His hand dropped from her face, and she nodded slowly.

With Noa clutching his hand tight for support until they had to part ways, they ventured together into the chilled depths of Nivora.




Uwaa ... I'm SO running out of ideas here, so I'm delaying it a little. I'm not telling you what I'm thinking though, it has to be a complete surprise... ) Bwahahaha! Next chapter soon, though. --That is, once I update my OTHER stories. @__@