Vahn's head was spinning with fear, excitement, and mixed anticipation as he felt himself descending in this tunnel of light. What if Meta wasn't able to pull him back from Noaru -- what if he was stuck there as a living person among countless dead people?
There was a pretty good chance that nobody had ever done this before, mostly because no people in recorded history had utilized Ra-Seru to dive down into the afterlife to retrieve a lost soul.
He didn't care if anyone in the future knew about him or not, because he was doubting he could return successfully. As he dreaded what was to come, his feet hit solid ground and the light around him receded...
Before his eyes stretched an eternity of nature, which immediately brought questions to his mind. The sun shone upon them ... did it ever rain? Did they ever get hungry or hot or cold or tired or out of breath? All he knew is that if they didn't, and he got stuck here, he would be the only one who did and he would die anyway. Being here boggled his mind.
When he thought about how he was going to find Gi here, he banged himself on the forehead in frustration and fell back. The grass caught his fall, and he stared up into the eternal sunlight. How, how, how...?
He'd ask. That's right, he'd ask. Gi hadn't been dead for very long, so he couldn't have gone far, right?
... Right?
Thinking it was worth the stupid effort, he got to his feet and started walking. The minute he caught someone milling around, he ran to them waving an arm. "Excuse me! You there!" He ran to the woman whom he had startled, trying to catch his breath. He bet that dead people didn't have problems breathing.
"Yes, what is it?" she said, helping him upright. Her hand landed on his chest, right where his heart was beating-- "What in Tieg's name is...? ... Your heart, it's beating! You're alive!" He calmed her yelping before she attracted unwanted attention from other ... dead ... people around.
He straightening himself up and coughed into a fist. "It's a very long story. Just tell me this... have you seen a young man, around my height, with green hair? Did he run by here anytime soon?" She blinked a few times, then raised her eyes to the sky. Suddenly she looked as if she'd uttered a horrible curse.
"He told me to keep an eye out for -you-."
Taken a bit by surprise, he laughed and shook his head forward at her. "He told you to look out for me? Which way did he go?" When she didn't give him an answer, he seized her by her shoulders and shook her violently. "Tell me which way he went or I'll--" He looked down at his own hip, realizing that his weapon was not there on his belt. No wonder he felt something missing, in addition to Meta.
She squeaked in fear anyway, pointing behind them. "He went that way!" she cried. "Just leave me alone already!" He let go of her, apologized profusely, and dashed off in that direction.
Most of those who he passed watched him running madly, as he laughed and occasionally muttered Gi's name in excitement. He was headed towards a tree where the shadows provided by the thick branches and foilage above served as great hiding.
And -- no doubt -- a crouched figure was dwelling in those shadows.
"Is that you?! Gi! GI!"
About six feet away, he dove like the world was by his fingertips -- but oh, it was, because Gi had become his world and everything he had lived and half-died for. He threw his arms around Gi's middle, sobbing hysterically into him, and knew from the immediate lack of reaction that he was mad. He thought he'd died just to come see him, but no!
This was it -- this was their happy ending because he could sit here until the end of time --
Gi pulled him up, his reclining weight crushing his torso a bit. "You fool, you died for me? To come see me?" When Vahn looked up, he realized the tears that refused to fall. It was just like living, except ... you were free of all of the daily life functions and problems. And for some reason he was kind of breathing ... oh, this was so scary...
Vahn brushed the tears away, settling quite comfortably in his lap with his arms around Gi's neck. "I'm not dead," he said, nuzzling his face into the soft fabric of his shirt. He smelled like heaven, something to be expected of someone living in the Valley of Noaru, Legaia's equivalent of heaven.
So where did all of the evil bastards who they had disposed of, like Cort, go? Did they just die and that was it, staring off into oblivion for the rest of their dead days? It was so confusing that it almost made Vahn glad to be alive. "Meta sent me here, but I'm still alive among all of these dead people. I came to see you and to take you back. I want to take you back with me to Legaia!" He said it a little too vehemently like it was against Gi's will, and threw himself excitedly upon him. With almost bruising force he kissed him, in sky-high hopes that everything would go well.
Vahn straddling life and death here confused Gi as well, but he was thankful that he was here and solid somehow. The plaguing issues of whether this would work or not were pushed to the bottom of their priority lists, because they were too busy lost in each other and wishing time as they knew it would just freeze for them. But it couldn't.
Gi was the one who broke away, running a thumb over Vahn's paled cheek to make absolutely sure that he wasn't dreaming. "Let's try," he said softly. "I want to go back to Legaia ... I want to fix all of the things that I did wrong." He stood up, guiding Vahn to his feet too. "Lead me back!"
Vahn nodded, touching a hand to the opposite arm. A red glow hovered over his skin, and it sounded like the universe was a piece of paper ready to tear in half. "Meta, we want to come home," he said softly. Indeed the universe -did- tear, creating a wormhole of sorts out of thin air above their heads.
It was like a tunnel leading up from hell to the earth, because it was dark inside and red at the edges. "Hurry up, Vahn!" Meta screamed through his head, and he winced a bit. He leapt up into the hole, hovering there in nothingness. With much difficulty he turned himself upside-down and reached his hand down to Gi. He leapt and took hold, and Vahn tried to get the hang of this floating business. As he went up, the hole began to close. It snapped shut on Gi's elbow like a rubber band, and for the first time since his arrival, he felt pain.
"Shit, that hurt..."
"That must mean you're close -- come on, help me here!"
"I can't, I can't hang here forever! And my stupid arm is trapped!"
"Pull! Just try!" Gi thrust his head up into the hole, only to be pelted on the cheek by one of Vahn's falling tears. "You're stronger than I am, Gi! Please, don't surrender!" Another tear. "I want you to come back with me or else I'm committing suicide to join you!"
Not all that taken with the thought of suicide to begin with, Gi wormed his body up until his feet were solid on the shimmering edges of the hole. "I'm opening up the other end!" Meta yelled, but they both heard it. A blinding light appeared at the end, through which his voice called down.
Vahn seemed to be holding onto oblivion with the other hand, like that was his only lifeline. "Pull yourself, I'm struggling just to hold onto you!" he cried.
Gi was getting frustrated at life, and even death, trying to wrench them apart. He used his legs to propel him up to Vahn's height, threw his arms around him tight, and put his feet against the opposite "wall". They felt as if they were trying to climb back up a chimney. "Use your arms," he said, shifting his feet up slowly.
With them working together like that, they began inching closer to the light until a single ray of it shone down on Vahn. They were pulled into it, and with the force of a small volcano erupting, they were shot out and thrown together onto the wall of Vahn's house, knocking the cabinet doors open.
Noa and the three Ra-Seru humans (everyone still at a loss for something better to call them) were there, and rushed over to them. "Are you okay, Vahn?" Noa cried, the floodgates opening so that rivers rushed from her eyes. "I thought you died! I thought you wouldn't come back safely!"
*Glad to know she's still optimistic.*
"But -- what happened to Gi?" Meta asked.
Vahn looked at Gi, and Gi looked at Vahn. "He's right here," Vahn said, as if he'd been asked what one plus one is. How could -anybody- miss them curled up so tightly to one another that they seemed to be siamese twins?
The four of them shook their heads, mumbling individually. "I don't see him," Noa whined, flailing her arms. "Are you sure you brought him up? I think that trip was a little too much for you -- you must be sick!"
"I'M NOT SICK!" he roared, and she backed away with her eyes as wide as tea saucers. "He's right here next to me! What do you think my arms are around, the air?! Gi, get up for a minute!" They both stood, and unwound their arms from around each other. "Punch the wall or something!"
"Uh--"
"Just do something."
He punched the wall lightly, the sound making Noa scream and jump back onto the bed. "A GHOST!" she shrieked, throwing the blanket over her head.
"Wait just a second," Terra said, putting her hands to her head and pressing very hard on her temples. She closed her eyes and focused hard, then opened her eyes after a few seconds. Surprise -- Gi was there. "Now I see him," she said in complete confusion.
Ozma did the same, and Gi appeared to him too. "Vahn, Gi -is- a ghost. Because you brought him up, you're the only one that can actually see him. The three of us can see him only because we still have some powers left. But Noa, Gala, Lu, Che ... no other humans can see him."
He grinned a bit, almost laughing at the idea. "So what does it look like when I do this?" He turned on his heel and pinned Gi against the wall, kissing him furiously. When Gi gasped a bit, reminding himself that he needed to breathe again, he ran his hand through the back of Vahn's hair.
"It looks like you're making love to the wall and your hair is rippling," Noa giggled, jumping off the bed with the blanket around her like a cape.
"We know what you're doing," Meta said, rolling his eyes. Terra and Ozma laughed.
Vahn leaned against the wall, holding Gi's hand tightly. "But in all seriousness, Vahn," Terra said, stepping forward, "it's going to be a bit hard for you to explain to everyone what's going on. Maybe ... too hard. You can go on living like this?"
She'd hit the note he never wanted to hear. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Gi, but ... like this? Only four people in the world could see him because he was the living dead?
Just how many houses did life have to drop on him?
His eyes watering, he collapsed forward onto his hands and knees and sobbed at the floorboards like they were listening. Meta and Ozma backed out slowly, Terra putting an arm over Noa's shoulders and guiding her outside. "I'll go tell Lu and Che of this," he heard Meta say before the door closed and all was silent.
Gi got down on his knees next to Vahn, rubbing his back gently. "Even with the Mist gone, Legaia is a depressing and mysterious place. I'm so sorry it turned out like this, Vahn..." That's when Vahn got up onto his knees and hugged him for dear life and dear death. "I can live like this, no problem," he said quietly to assure himself.
"Good, because I can die like this, too. Don't surrender."
He looked up with a tearful smile. "I won't surrender."
There was a pretty good chance that nobody had ever done this before, mostly because no people in recorded history had utilized Ra-Seru to dive down into the afterlife to retrieve a lost soul.
He didn't care if anyone in the future knew about him or not, because he was doubting he could return successfully. As he dreaded what was to come, his feet hit solid ground and the light around him receded...
Before his eyes stretched an eternity of nature, which immediately brought questions to his mind. The sun shone upon them ... did it ever rain? Did they ever get hungry or hot or cold or tired or out of breath? All he knew is that if they didn't, and he got stuck here, he would be the only one who did and he would die anyway. Being here boggled his mind.
When he thought about how he was going to find Gi here, he banged himself on the forehead in frustration and fell back. The grass caught his fall, and he stared up into the eternal sunlight. How, how, how...?
He'd ask. That's right, he'd ask. Gi hadn't been dead for very long, so he couldn't have gone far, right?
... Right?
Thinking it was worth the stupid effort, he got to his feet and started walking. The minute he caught someone milling around, he ran to them waving an arm. "Excuse me! You there!" He ran to the woman whom he had startled, trying to catch his breath. He bet that dead people didn't have problems breathing.
"Yes, what is it?" she said, helping him upright. Her hand landed on his chest, right where his heart was beating-- "What in Tieg's name is...? ... Your heart, it's beating! You're alive!" He calmed her yelping before she attracted unwanted attention from other ... dead ... people around.
He straightening himself up and coughed into a fist. "It's a very long story. Just tell me this... have you seen a young man, around my height, with green hair? Did he run by here anytime soon?" She blinked a few times, then raised her eyes to the sky. Suddenly she looked as if she'd uttered a horrible curse.
"He told me to keep an eye out for -you-."
Taken a bit by surprise, he laughed and shook his head forward at her. "He told you to look out for me? Which way did he go?" When she didn't give him an answer, he seized her by her shoulders and shook her violently. "Tell me which way he went or I'll--" He looked down at his own hip, realizing that his weapon was not there on his belt. No wonder he felt something missing, in addition to Meta.
She squeaked in fear anyway, pointing behind them. "He went that way!" she cried. "Just leave me alone already!" He let go of her, apologized profusely, and dashed off in that direction.
Most of those who he passed watched him running madly, as he laughed and occasionally muttered Gi's name in excitement. He was headed towards a tree where the shadows provided by the thick branches and foilage above served as great hiding.
And -- no doubt -- a crouched figure was dwelling in those shadows.
"Is that you?! Gi! GI!"
About six feet away, he dove like the world was by his fingertips -- but oh, it was, because Gi had become his world and everything he had lived and half-died for. He threw his arms around Gi's middle, sobbing hysterically into him, and knew from the immediate lack of reaction that he was mad. He thought he'd died just to come see him, but no!
This was it -- this was their happy ending because he could sit here until the end of time --
Gi pulled him up, his reclining weight crushing his torso a bit. "You fool, you died for me? To come see me?" When Vahn looked up, he realized the tears that refused to fall. It was just like living, except ... you were free of all of the daily life functions and problems. And for some reason he was kind of breathing ... oh, this was so scary...
Vahn brushed the tears away, settling quite comfortably in his lap with his arms around Gi's neck. "I'm not dead," he said, nuzzling his face into the soft fabric of his shirt. He smelled like heaven, something to be expected of someone living in the Valley of Noaru, Legaia's equivalent of heaven.
So where did all of the evil bastards who they had disposed of, like Cort, go? Did they just die and that was it, staring off into oblivion for the rest of their dead days? It was so confusing that it almost made Vahn glad to be alive. "Meta sent me here, but I'm still alive among all of these dead people. I came to see you and to take you back. I want to take you back with me to Legaia!" He said it a little too vehemently like it was against Gi's will, and threw himself excitedly upon him. With almost bruising force he kissed him, in sky-high hopes that everything would go well.
Vahn straddling life and death here confused Gi as well, but he was thankful that he was here and solid somehow. The plaguing issues of whether this would work or not were pushed to the bottom of their priority lists, because they were too busy lost in each other and wishing time as they knew it would just freeze for them. But it couldn't.
Gi was the one who broke away, running a thumb over Vahn's paled cheek to make absolutely sure that he wasn't dreaming. "Let's try," he said softly. "I want to go back to Legaia ... I want to fix all of the things that I did wrong." He stood up, guiding Vahn to his feet too. "Lead me back!"
Vahn nodded, touching a hand to the opposite arm. A red glow hovered over his skin, and it sounded like the universe was a piece of paper ready to tear in half. "Meta, we want to come home," he said softly. Indeed the universe -did- tear, creating a wormhole of sorts out of thin air above their heads.
It was like a tunnel leading up from hell to the earth, because it was dark inside and red at the edges. "Hurry up, Vahn!" Meta screamed through his head, and he winced a bit. He leapt up into the hole, hovering there in nothingness. With much difficulty he turned himself upside-down and reached his hand down to Gi. He leapt and took hold, and Vahn tried to get the hang of this floating business. As he went up, the hole began to close. It snapped shut on Gi's elbow like a rubber band, and for the first time since his arrival, he felt pain.
"Shit, that hurt..."
"That must mean you're close -- come on, help me here!"
"I can't, I can't hang here forever! And my stupid arm is trapped!"
"Pull! Just try!" Gi thrust his head up into the hole, only to be pelted on the cheek by one of Vahn's falling tears. "You're stronger than I am, Gi! Please, don't surrender!" Another tear. "I want you to come back with me or else I'm committing suicide to join you!"
Not all that taken with the thought of suicide to begin with, Gi wormed his body up until his feet were solid on the shimmering edges of the hole. "I'm opening up the other end!" Meta yelled, but they both heard it. A blinding light appeared at the end, through which his voice called down.
Vahn seemed to be holding onto oblivion with the other hand, like that was his only lifeline. "Pull yourself, I'm struggling just to hold onto you!" he cried.
Gi was getting frustrated at life, and even death, trying to wrench them apart. He used his legs to propel him up to Vahn's height, threw his arms around him tight, and put his feet against the opposite "wall". They felt as if they were trying to climb back up a chimney. "Use your arms," he said, shifting his feet up slowly.
With them working together like that, they began inching closer to the light until a single ray of it shone down on Vahn. They were pulled into it, and with the force of a small volcano erupting, they were shot out and thrown together onto the wall of Vahn's house, knocking the cabinet doors open.
Noa and the three Ra-Seru humans (everyone still at a loss for something better to call them) were there, and rushed over to them. "Are you okay, Vahn?" Noa cried, the floodgates opening so that rivers rushed from her eyes. "I thought you died! I thought you wouldn't come back safely!"
*Glad to know she's still optimistic.*
"But -- what happened to Gi?" Meta asked.
Vahn looked at Gi, and Gi looked at Vahn. "He's right here," Vahn said, as if he'd been asked what one plus one is. How could -anybody- miss them curled up so tightly to one another that they seemed to be siamese twins?
The four of them shook their heads, mumbling individually. "I don't see him," Noa whined, flailing her arms. "Are you sure you brought him up? I think that trip was a little too much for you -- you must be sick!"
"I'M NOT SICK!" he roared, and she backed away with her eyes as wide as tea saucers. "He's right here next to me! What do you think my arms are around, the air?! Gi, get up for a minute!" They both stood, and unwound their arms from around each other. "Punch the wall or something!"
"Uh--"
"Just do something."
He punched the wall lightly, the sound making Noa scream and jump back onto the bed. "A GHOST!" she shrieked, throwing the blanket over her head.
"Wait just a second," Terra said, putting her hands to her head and pressing very hard on her temples. She closed her eyes and focused hard, then opened her eyes after a few seconds. Surprise -- Gi was there. "Now I see him," she said in complete confusion.
Ozma did the same, and Gi appeared to him too. "Vahn, Gi -is- a ghost. Because you brought him up, you're the only one that can actually see him. The three of us can see him only because we still have some powers left. But Noa, Gala, Lu, Che ... no other humans can see him."
He grinned a bit, almost laughing at the idea. "So what does it look like when I do this?" He turned on his heel and pinned Gi against the wall, kissing him furiously. When Gi gasped a bit, reminding himself that he needed to breathe again, he ran his hand through the back of Vahn's hair.
"It looks like you're making love to the wall and your hair is rippling," Noa giggled, jumping off the bed with the blanket around her like a cape.
"We know what you're doing," Meta said, rolling his eyes. Terra and Ozma laughed.
Vahn leaned against the wall, holding Gi's hand tightly. "But in all seriousness, Vahn," Terra said, stepping forward, "it's going to be a bit hard for you to explain to everyone what's going on. Maybe ... too hard. You can go on living like this?"
She'd hit the note he never wanted to hear. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Gi, but ... like this? Only four people in the world could see him because he was the living dead?
Just how many houses did life have to drop on him?
His eyes watering, he collapsed forward onto his hands and knees and sobbed at the floorboards like they were listening. Meta and Ozma backed out slowly, Terra putting an arm over Noa's shoulders and guiding her outside. "I'll go tell Lu and Che of this," he heard Meta say before the door closed and all was silent.
Gi got down on his knees next to Vahn, rubbing his back gently. "Even with the Mist gone, Legaia is a depressing and mysterious place. I'm so sorry it turned out like this, Vahn..." That's when Vahn got up onto his knees and hugged him for dear life and dear death. "I can live like this, no problem," he said quietly to assure himself.
"Good, because I can die like this, too. Don't surrender."
He looked up with a tearful smile. "I won't surrender."
