A/N: Someone please tell me what the heck Im doing...Seriously. I feel so
clueless writing these chapters. Well not really anymore. ^_^ I hope your
liking the story so far. I can't believe we're still developing everything.
~. ^ Hehe. Well enjoy this one.
~ Hoshitaiyou Hikaru AKA Too Human Lately
" "Nadesiko!"
With a thud Nadesiko fell hard upon the ground. Her breathing was labored and her eyes fluttered violently. Lamirra lifted her halfway off the ground, eyes both furious and fearful. This wasn't part of her plan!
"SIKO YOU IDIOT! You weren't supposed to make it last so long!"
Reno, nearly panicking, froze as he watched Nadesiko's body rise up on its own and the girl coughed up large amounts of blood. He had never seen anything like this happen before. Lamirra quickly turned her friend's head to make sure the blood didn't choke her.
"Reno, go get help! We need to get her stabilized!"
A familiar male voice rang out at the trio as Lamirra tried to hold her friend up. It was Rufus.
"It's on its way. Load her into the car!"
~*~*~*~
Reno stood quietly in the hallway of the Upper Plate's hospital. What had he just seen? What happened? In all his years as a Turk, all the jobs he had taken, he had seen some pretty weird stuff. But this, Nadesiko falling, going into a seizure, and choking up blood simply because she used magic.that had everything beat. He looked up as Lamirra quietly entered the hallway with a downcast expression. Her shoulders were slouched, her eyes had dull; it was as if her soul had been sucked out of her.
"I shouldn't have asked her to do that...this is my fault."
She looked up at Reno with eyes full of sorrow.
"Why didn't she argue with me? Why didn't she think of an alternative like she always does? Why did she choose now to do what I asked?"
Not quite sure what he was doing Reno walked up to Lamirra and wrapped his arms around her. He didn't say anything. She knew it wasn't her fault. Nadesiko did what she did for a reason. What reason? Reno had no idea, but was sure that whatever her incentive might have been, it was just as logical as she was. Lamirra stood shaking in his arms, thoughts racing through her mind a million miles an hour. Suddenly Reno spoke.
"She wouldn't appreciate you crying like this, you know."
Her mind blanked out on her.
"What?!"
Reno grinned and pushed her back away from him.
"Siko will be fine. That's what she would tell us if she were conscious. I can just see it. You're standing by her side, whimpering like you are now. And she'd grab ya by the front of your shirt and tell you 'You don't like the situation? The do something about it! You know as well as I do that nothing happens unless someone gets up and does it!'" straightening, Reno gave her a lopsided grin. "She would. And that's just what we're going to do. We're going to find out what happened and how to fix it."
Lamirra blinked in confusion.
'Wait, what?'
Something felt backwards here. Then it clicked; Reno was actually thinking. She nodded and brushed away the tears that were threatening to fall.
"Now why didn't I think of that?"
"Because you were busy being the best friend. You're not supposed to think of that just yet. The boyf-I mean, uhh.the other friend is."
~*~*~*~
Snow and lots of it floated heavily down around Nadesiko's body. She was in a broad field. It seemed so familiar, her memory of it dancing just at the end of her minds reach. Her brown eyes gathered in her surroundings with caution. No trees or plant life, and surrounded by mountains. She clasped her hands over her ears as the wind around her howled insanely. This was too much for her. She needed somewhere to get out of the wind and snow, before she froze.
Looking up as if searching for an answer she eyed the blood red sky with curiosity. The snow seemed to fall right out of the crimson canvas that stretched farther than the eye could see. There was no way in hell that this weather was normal. Hanging her head, she sighed. Where was she going to go? To her left she noticed a small cave with an entrance just big enough for her to squeeze in. As if being pulled by some unseen force she started trekking through the white drifts of snow to the possible safety and shelter of the cave.
~*~*~*~
"Just what do you plan on doing?" inquired Rufus as he looked down upon the two Turks. They had just told him that they, two workers with little money, were going to find a way to heal Nadesiko. Didn't they know that they needed money to run searches on things like this? He was already paying for the medical care, the specialists, and a hotel room so that Lamirra could be close enough to her best friend; surely they weren't going to ask him to cover this as well. Reno waved a hand absently about as he spoke.
"Uh, well.I'm going to do some research, and um..." sudden realization struck Reno. He looked up at Rufus, the burning fire of defiance thrashing about in his eyes. "You know what? It really isn't any of your business. We just told you 'cause you have a crush on her. That's all you need to know. See ya!"
Lamirra smiled in amusement as Reno grabbed her arm and dragged her down the hall, leaving Rufus confused, as usual, as he stood in the hallway and stared after them.
Lamirra giggled as she glanced back at the bewildered Rufus.
"I don't know if he was born ignorant, or working with people like you eventually got to him." Looking up, she noticed he was frowning. "Hey, what's the matter with you?"
Reno shrugged.
"Dunno what to do next. Maybe you should tell me what happened back there."
Lamirra nodded. It was only fair to tell the guy what he had just witnessed.
"Well, promise me you'll keep this secret."
Sighing Reno stopped walking after they exited the building and were standing by his car.
"I promise."
He pulled open the passenger side door and Lamirra climbed in. After closing the door behind her he slid over the hood and climbed in to drive. Lamirra brushed back a lock of hair patiently.
"Nadesiko is the last living person of the Icefire clan. These people are known for their magic. They were alive since the time of the Cetra, and their existence revolved around protecting the earth with their extraordinary capabilities. Their magic was so special because it didn't require materia. You see, supposedly their blood is full of magic. Nadesiko is proof that that theory is true. Every time she uses magic for a prolonged period of time, or if it's an extreme spell, it saps some of her energy, her life. When she used that spell back then, I guess...it was just too much."
Curiosity overtook Reno, and he couldn't stop the last question from popping out of his mouth.
"Why is she the last of them?"
Lamirra sighed. Why did she always end up telling the history of things to people?
"Well you remember how we learned in History classes about the Red War?"
Reno turned the wheel to the left and the hotel loomed up in front of them.
"For the sake of this conversation, yes."
"Well, that war was between the Icefire clan who was in alliance with the Watergrass clan, and the Bloodwind clan." Stopping a moment, she looked at Reno. "There've been rumors going around that Rufus' ancestors belonged to the Bloodwind clan. Anyway, they were fighting over the land; this very continent, in this very city. Bloodwind wanted to steal the land from the people to create a giant fort. It was to be the center of the world, and would cover all aspects of life: trade, war, smith, art, research, you know. At the time, Midgar, or as it was called then, Shohin, was a very beautiful trade city, and the tribes just weren't willing to give it up. So Bloodwind attacked. Bloodwind would capture people of the Icefire clan and kill them because they feared the clan's magic. Then, a scientist of the Bloodwind clan discovered that the blood of those from the Icefire clan could be turned into a powerful materia. So instead of just killing in fear, people now hunted for sport of her people's blood. Fortunately a woman and her child escaped."
Reno parked the car with a sigh.
"Lemme guess, Nadesiko and her mother."
Lamirra gave Reno a flat look. "Let ME guess. You didn't get good grades in history class?"
~*~*~*~
'Hun, ya! Oro, itai...."
With the wind still howling outside Nadesiko squeezed her way into the cave. Apparently the entrance was smaller than it looked. She squinted trying to make her eyes adjust to the dimly lit space. Her breath left her when she saw the hunched over form of a middle aged man with long black hair making his way toward her with a torch in hand. She straightened the best she could in the small space; better make herself known before he plowed into her.
"Uh, hello sir! I was just coming in to escape the wind. I don't know where I am. Could you perhaps help me?"
The man's voice lifted with his head and she caught herself staring directly into to ice cold blue eyes. His tattered uniform hung loosely about his body.
"You of all people should know your own subconscious, Nadesiko."
~*~*~*~
Lamirra sighed. Fortunately, Reno let her borrow his car to drive out to her house and pick up her clothes and some of Nadesiko's things. She grabbed at a shirt of Nadesiko's that hung over the chair in the living room. As she did so a small worn looking book fell onto the floor.
"What the hell..."
Opening it she began to read. She didn't know that she had run across the journal Nadesiko had found about Ronan. She read over the entries about the wings, inscriptions that this man had supposedly found, the Limestone Hills, something about an eye, and a few other freaky things. Then she found one entry that caught her interest.
'Date: Second Cycle, Black Night, Year of Lightning
It's been a while since I've had the time to write a real entry like this, but excavation is extremely slow at this point. It's been two years, and I can't help but wonder what has happened to my family. My brother promised me that he would care for my wife and child. My wife Nadeka is pregnant with her first child, so I sent her home. She promised me that my child would be safe and was to be raised as one of the Icefire clan. One with my traditions, my fears. One just like me. It makes me proud to hear such things. Still dreams have been haunting me. Dreams of the coming demon, whose name I will not mention for fear of being the cause. These dreams show a girl and the new Tenshi fighting the demon. The Tenshi seems strong, and I have total confidence in its victory, but the girl next to it.my source of fear comes from her, for I feel strangely connected to her. We must go and search again, but I hope to have a moment of calm like this time to write again.'
Lamirra would have read on but the writing was becoming faint. She flipped through the remaining few pages and froze at the third to last. A paragraph of a strange, spidery writing was scrawled across the page. Somehow, the writing seemed so familiar.shaking away her thoughts, Lamirra straightened.
"I gotta get moving. Reno will be wondering what took me so long."
~*~*~*~
Nadesiko stared at the man in confusion.
"My.... sub-con-science...WHAT do you mean by THAT?"
With a smirk the man turned away from her and began to walk towards the back of the cave. Nadesiko quickly followed.
"HEY! I asked you a question!"
The man nodded.
"I know. You're in your subconscious. You over exerted yourself out there fighting that dragon; now you're lying in a hospital bed on the verge of death. But don't worry; you aren't going to die."
Nadesiko had some pretty weird things happen to her before, but she never knew she had another person in her mind. Trying to not get off topic she titled her head to the side.
"So why are you in my mind?"
"Its time you learned about those 'pieces' you've been reading about in my journal."
Nadesiko jumped up excitedly.
"The journal is yours? OH WOW! This is so totally cool!"
~*~*~*~
Rufus stood outside the room where Nadesiko lay in a bed on life stabilizers. Looking up at the doctor he pulled a handful of gil from his pocket and dropped it into the doctors hand then shooed him away. Turning with a downcast expression he walked into the room and stood beside Nadesiko. Why hadn't she stayed inside like he had asked?
'For the same reason that you fell for her. She won't take no for an answer. She's strong willed. She stands by her friends. She has a high sense of honor.' Rufus smiled bitterly in spite of himself.
'She's everything your not.'
~*~*~*~
"So what was the eye thing about?" Nadesiko bounced happily beside the ragged man. He looked at her with a calm expression. "Lets start from the beginning, alright? My name is Seiki. Where we are now, well, the scenery you see is the Limestone Hills just North of Icicle Inn by the Great Glacier. This is just after the attack from Ronan. The war between Tenshi and Ronan isn't quite over. My squadron and I were looking for a set of tablets that was set here by the Creator. It would enable us to lock away Ronan with the help of Tenshi, but we only found half of them before Ronan killed us all. You have to find the other half."
Nadesiko stood to her feet in frustration.
"WAIT A SEC BUDDY! I already have to find the stupid key that releases this demon before Shinra does! Meaning I have to destroy it, too! NOW you also want me to find some hidden tablets from centuries ago?! What do you people think me and Lamirra are!? Superheroes!?"
Seiki shook his head and sighed. Were all women like this?
"No, Nadesiko. You two have to find it because it is your destiny. You can do it. You're the only ones who can do it. If you don't, you're leaving the whole world to be destroyed by evil."
"Oh that gives me much of a choice. So what do we need to do?"
The man pulled a golden amulet from his pocket. In the center of the circular item was a emerald carved in the shape of a dragon.
"This is a copy of the key. It can't do anything. It's just a model. When you find the key remove the emerald from it and destroy it. The gold cannot be destroyed in any way. But you must make sure never to let the two come back in contact. After the destruction of the key, go to the Limestone Hills. You'll know what to do from there. Don't worry."
~*~*~*~
Nadesiko's body lurched forward and her eyes shot open.
"HOLY SHITAKE MUSHROOMS! GET THESE NEEDLES OUTTA ME BEFORE I SHOVE EM UP YOUR-"
She stopped screaming when she saw Rufus looking at her in fear. With a nervous laugh she shrugged.
"Uhhh.hi. Can we remove these needles, like, NOW?!"
~*~*~*~
A/N: Hmm.well, this chapter turned out quite interesting. It explained quite a lot, I'll say that. *shrugs* Sorry I'm not all happy-go-lucky or bouncy like I normally am.I have a whole lotta homework AND I'm sick. Plus I have a bunch of other fics I need to take care of. *sighs* Well, I'll try to get the next chapter out soon.
~ Hoshitaiyou Hikaru AKA Too Human Lately
" "Nadesiko!"
With a thud Nadesiko fell hard upon the ground. Her breathing was labored and her eyes fluttered violently. Lamirra lifted her halfway off the ground, eyes both furious and fearful. This wasn't part of her plan!
"SIKO YOU IDIOT! You weren't supposed to make it last so long!"
Reno, nearly panicking, froze as he watched Nadesiko's body rise up on its own and the girl coughed up large amounts of blood. He had never seen anything like this happen before. Lamirra quickly turned her friend's head to make sure the blood didn't choke her.
"Reno, go get help! We need to get her stabilized!"
A familiar male voice rang out at the trio as Lamirra tried to hold her friend up. It was Rufus.
"It's on its way. Load her into the car!"
~*~*~*~
Reno stood quietly in the hallway of the Upper Plate's hospital. What had he just seen? What happened? In all his years as a Turk, all the jobs he had taken, he had seen some pretty weird stuff. But this, Nadesiko falling, going into a seizure, and choking up blood simply because she used magic.that had everything beat. He looked up as Lamirra quietly entered the hallway with a downcast expression. Her shoulders were slouched, her eyes had dull; it was as if her soul had been sucked out of her.
"I shouldn't have asked her to do that...this is my fault."
She looked up at Reno with eyes full of sorrow.
"Why didn't she argue with me? Why didn't she think of an alternative like she always does? Why did she choose now to do what I asked?"
Not quite sure what he was doing Reno walked up to Lamirra and wrapped his arms around her. He didn't say anything. She knew it wasn't her fault. Nadesiko did what she did for a reason. What reason? Reno had no idea, but was sure that whatever her incentive might have been, it was just as logical as she was. Lamirra stood shaking in his arms, thoughts racing through her mind a million miles an hour. Suddenly Reno spoke.
"She wouldn't appreciate you crying like this, you know."
Her mind blanked out on her.
"What?!"
Reno grinned and pushed her back away from him.
"Siko will be fine. That's what she would tell us if she were conscious. I can just see it. You're standing by her side, whimpering like you are now. And she'd grab ya by the front of your shirt and tell you 'You don't like the situation? The do something about it! You know as well as I do that nothing happens unless someone gets up and does it!'" straightening, Reno gave her a lopsided grin. "She would. And that's just what we're going to do. We're going to find out what happened and how to fix it."
Lamirra blinked in confusion.
'Wait, what?'
Something felt backwards here. Then it clicked; Reno was actually thinking. She nodded and brushed away the tears that were threatening to fall.
"Now why didn't I think of that?"
"Because you were busy being the best friend. You're not supposed to think of that just yet. The boyf-I mean, uhh.the other friend is."
~*~*~*~
Snow and lots of it floated heavily down around Nadesiko's body. She was in a broad field. It seemed so familiar, her memory of it dancing just at the end of her minds reach. Her brown eyes gathered in her surroundings with caution. No trees or plant life, and surrounded by mountains. She clasped her hands over her ears as the wind around her howled insanely. This was too much for her. She needed somewhere to get out of the wind and snow, before she froze.
Looking up as if searching for an answer she eyed the blood red sky with curiosity. The snow seemed to fall right out of the crimson canvas that stretched farther than the eye could see. There was no way in hell that this weather was normal. Hanging her head, she sighed. Where was she going to go? To her left she noticed a small cave with an entrance just big enough for her to squeeze in. As if being pulled by some unseen force she started trekking through the white drifts of snow to the possible safety and shelter of the cave.
~*~*~*~
"Just what do you plan on doing?" inquired Rufus as he looked down upon the two Turks. They had just told him that they, two workers with little money, were going to find a way to heal Nadesiko. Didn't they know that they needed money to run searches on things like this? He was already paying for the medical care, the specialists, and a hotel room so that Lamirra could be close enough to her best friend; surely they weren't going to ask him to cover this as well. Reno waved a hand absently about as he spoke.
"Uh, well.I'm going to do some research, and um..." sudden realization struck Reno. He looked up at Rufus, the burning fire of defiance thrashing about in his eyes. "You know what? It really isn't any of your business. We just told you 'cause you have a crush on her. That's all you need to know. See ya!"
Lamirra smiled in amusement as Reno grabbed her arm and dragged her down the hall, leaving Rufus confused, as usual, as he stood in the hallway and stared after them.
Lamirra giggled as she glanced back at the bewildered Rufus.
"I don't know if he was born ignorant, or working with people like you eventually got to him." Looking up, she noticed he was frowning. "Hey, what's the matter with you?"
Reno shrugged.
"Dunno what to do next. Maybe you should tell me what happened back there."
Lamirra nodded. It was only fair to tell the guy what he had just witnessed.
"Well, promise me you'll keep this secret."
Sighing Reno stopped walking after they exited the building and were standing by his car.
"I promise."
He pulled open the passenger side door and Lamirra climbed in. After closing the door behind her he slid over the hood and climbed in to drive. Lamirra brushed back a lock of hair patiently.
"Nadesiko is the last living person of the Icefire clan. These people are known for their magic. They were alive since the time of the Cetra, and their existence revolved around protecting the earth with their extraordinary capabilities. Their magic was so special because it didn't require materia. You see, supposedly their blood is full of magic. Nadesiko is proof that that theory is true. Every time she uses magic for a prolonged period of time, or if it's an extreme spell, it saps some of her energy, her life. When she used that spell back then, I guess...it was just too much."
Curiosity overtook Reno, and he couldn't stop the last question from popping out of his mouth.
"Why is she the last of them?"
Lamirra sighed. Why did she always end up telling the history of things to people?
"Well you remember how we learned in History classes about the Red War?"
Reno turned the wheel to the left and the hotel loomed up in front of them.
"For the sake of this conversation, yes."
"Well, that war was between the Icefire clan who was in alliance with the Watergrass clan, and the Bloodwind clan." Stopping a moment, she looked at Reno. "There've been rumors going around that Rufus' ancestors belonged to the Bloodwind clan. Anyway, they were fighting over the land; this very continent, in this very city. Bloodwind wanted to steal the land from the people to create a giant fort. It was to be the center of the world, and would cover all aspects of life: trade, war, smith, art, research, you know. At the time, Midgar, or as it was called then, Shohin, was a very beautiful trade city, and the tribes just weren't willing to give it up. So Bloodwind attacked. Bloodwind would capture people of the Icefire clan and kill them because they feared the clan's magic. Then, a scientist of the Bloodwind clan discovered that the blood of those from the Icefire clan could be turned into a powerful materia. So instead of just killing in fear, people now hunted for sport of her people's blood. Fortunately a woman and her child escaped."
Reno parked the car with a sigh.
"Lemme guess, Nadesiko and her mother."
Lamirra gave Reno a flat look. "Let ME guess. You didn't get good grades in history class?"
~*~*~*~
'Hun, ya! Oro, itai...."
With the wind still howling outside Nadesiko squeezed her way into the cave. Apparently the entrance was smaller than it looked. She squinted trying to make her eyes adjust to the dimly lit space. Her breath left her when she saw the hunched over form of a middle aged man with long black hair making his way toward her with a torch in hand. She straightened the best she could in the small space; better make herself known before he plowed into her.
"Uh, hello sir! I was just coming in to escape the wind. I don't know where I am. Could you perhaps help me?"
The man's voice lifted with his head and she caught herself staring directly into to ice cold blue eyes. His tattered uniform hung loosely about his body.
"You of all people should know your own subconscious, Nadesiko."
~*~*~*~
Lamirra sighed. Fortunately, Reno let her borrow his car to drive out to her house and pick up her clothes and some of Nadesiko's things. She grabbed at a shirt of Nadesiko's that hung over the chair in the living room. As she did so a small worn looking book fell onto the floor.
"What the hell..."
Opening it she began to read. She didn't know that she had run across the journal Nadesiko had found about Ronan. She read over the entries about the wings, inscriptions that this man had supposedly found, the Limestone Hills, something about an eye, and a few other freaky things. Then she found one entry that caught her interest.
'Date: Second Cycle, Black Night, Year of Lightning
It's been a while since I've had the time to write a real entry like this, but excavation is extremely slow at this point. It's been two years, and I can't help but wonder what has happened to my family. My brother promised me that he would care for my wife and child. My wife Nadeka is pregnant with her first child, so I sent her home. She promised me that my child would be safe and was to be raised as one of the Icefire clan. One with my traditions, my fears. One just like me. It makes me proud to hear such things. Still dreams have been haunting me. Dreams of the coming demon, whose name I will not mention for fear of being the cause. These dreams show a girl and the new Tenshi fighting the demon. The Tenshi seems strong, and I have total confidence in its victory, but the girl next to it.my source of fear comes from her, for I feel strangely connected to her. We must go and search again, but I hope to have a moment of calm like this time to write again.'
Lamirra would have read on but the writing was becoming faint. She flipped through the remaining few pages and froze at the third to last. A paragraph of a strange, spidery writing was scrawled across the page. Somehow, the writing seemed so familiar.shaking away her thoughts, Lamirra straightened.
"I gotta get moving. Reno will be wondering what took me so long."
~*~*~*~
Nadesiko stared at the man in confusion.
"My.... sub-con-science...WHAT do you mean by THAT?"
With a smirk the man turned away from her and began to walk towards the back of the cave. Nadesiko quickly followed.
"HEY! I asked you a question!"
The man nodded.
"I know. You're in your subconscious. You over exerted yourself out there fighting that dragon; now you're lying in a hospital bed on the verge of death. But don't worry; you aren't going to die."
Nadesiko had some pretty weird things happen to her before, but she never knew she had another person in her mind. Trying to not get off topic she titled her head to the side.
"So why are you in my mind?"
"Its time you learned about those 'pieces' you've been reading about in my journal."
Nadesiko jumped up excitedly.
"The journal is yours? OH WOW! This is so totally cool!"
~*~*~*~
Rufus stood outside the room where Nadesiko lay in a bed on life stabilizers. Looking up at the doctor he pulled a handful of gil from his pocket and dropped it into the doctors hand then shooed him away. Turning with a downcast expression he walked into the room and stood beside Nadesiko. Why hadn't she stayed inside like he had asked?
'For the same reason that you fell for her. She won't take no for an answer. She's strong willed. She stands by her friends. She has a high sense of honor.' Rufus smiled bitterly in spite of himself.
'She's everything your not.'
~*~*~*~
"So what was the eye thing about?" Nadesiko bounced happily beside the ragged man. He looked at her with a calm expression. "Lets start from the beginning, alright? My name is Seiki. Where we are now, well, the scenery you see is the Limestone Hills just North of Icicle Inn by the Great Glacier. This is just after the attack from Ronan. The war between Tenshi and Ronan isn't quite over. My squadron and I were looking for a set of tablets that was set here by the Creator. It would enable us to lock away Ronan with the help of Tenshi, but we only found half of them before Ronan killed us all. You have to find the other half."
Nadesiko stood to her feet in frustration.
"WAIT A SEC BUDDY! I already have to find the stupid key that releases this demon before Shinra does! Meaning I have to destroy it, too! NOW you also want me to find some hidden tablets from centuries ago?! What do you people think me and Lamirra are!? Superheroes!?"
Seiki shook his head and sighed. Were all women like this?
"No, Nadesiko. You two have to find it because it is your destiny. You can do it. You're the only ones who can do it. If you don't, you're leaving the whole world to be destroyed by evil."
"Oh that gives me much of a choice. So what do we need to do?"
The man pulled a golden amulet from his pocket. In the center of the circular item was a emerald carved in the shape of a dragon.
"This is a copy of the key. It can't do anything. It's just a model. When you find the key remove the emerald from it and destroy it. The gold cannot be destroyed in any way. But you must make sure never to let the two come back in contact. After the destruction of the key, go to the Limestone Hills. You'll know what to do from there. Don't worry."
~*~*~*~
Nadesiko's body lurched forward and her eyes shot open.
"HOLY SHITAKE MUSHROOMS! GET THESE NEEDLES OUTTA ME BEFORE I SHOVE EM UP YOUR-"
She stopped screaming when she saw Rufus looking at her in fear. With a nervous laugh she shrugged.
"Uhhh.hi. Can we remove these needles, like, NOW?!"
~*~*~*~
A/N: Hmm.well, this chapter turned out quite interesting. It explained quite a lot, I'll say that. *shrugs* Sorry I'm not all happy-go-lucky or bouncy like I normally am.I have a whole lotta homework AND I'm sick. Plus I have a bunch of other fics I need to take care of. *sighs* Well, I'll try to get the next chapter out soon.
