This chapter is an alternate, and actually much-preferred ending for Hidden Currents. The inspiration for the latter half of this chapter comes from Garth Nix's Sabriel series. Although it is advised that you read the original ending in chapter 19 first, as this alteration actually begins mid-way through last chapter. I don't really want to apologize for the length, since I'm happier with this ending anyways. Thank you very much for taking the time to read, and hopefully review, my first multi-chapter story.


Chapter 20

For the End is Near

(Angst)

He ran, he spun on his heal and ran as fast as he could. Mia was dead, he knew it, and it was killing him. But he'd felt it, she'd been like ice, she'd held no warmth. Piers knew he couldn't go on knowing that. He couldn't be happy, even with the rest of his friends, knowing she was dead. And it was impossible for him to imagine waiting for the rest of eternity as a God, never to be with her again.

He didn't spare the Hall one last look, as he stepped through the arch-way at the end. Returning to life he wanted. Returning too accept death with her.

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Piers felt a sudden weight all around him, holding his limbs down as he returned to his body. It was weak and ravenged by the powers he had never wanted too possess...

He thought he felt something shift next to him, but he couldn't tell, his senses defeated by his ordeals. He wasn't even able to open his eyes to see where he was.

'I don't want to know who it is.' He thought numbly, 'I just want to be with Mia again...'

He felt his life draining away, like water running through his fingers. He couldn't have kept it in if he had wanted; he had said he was willing to do anything to get away from that power. He knew he was paying the price with his life. But… that was what he wanted, wasn't it? To be with Mia again; even if it meant death?

Piers was slightly comforted by the idea, the knowledge that the suffering was truly at an end. He was sad for his friends though, but he knew their lives would be fulfilling in their own ways. Yes, it was slipping away, his life. This time he accepted it, this time he wanted it, he was ready for it. He was ready for whatever would mean he could be with Mia again.

"P-Piers?" He felt a warm hand over his own, the voice barely registering in his mind. But when it did, he couldn't take the pain it brought.

"Piers, no, no please don't leave me again... Piers, please..."

'Mia…?' He thought numbly, the peace that had surrounded him breaking. 'Why are you here? I saw you... I FELT you...You… you died in my arms. How...?'

"No, Piers, please, come back, come back to me!" She was sobbing, her voice being lost as he could only hear his heart slowing, still pounding weakly in his ears.

'No, this isn't what was supposed to happen... No, Mia, no, I can't go yet!' He would have cried, he would have wept as he fought it, that earlier calm had vanished. The price, this was the price, he would die, whether he wanted it or not... 'No...'

Even as he lost feeling in his limbs, he felt her warmth over him. Sensed her tears as they fell, he was aware of something soft against his lips, and he tried to reach out to her again.

Tried, and had his life slip away a mere moment to soon...

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"Piers?" Mia asked, tears brimming in her soft eyes, "Piers, please..." She reached up with one hand, realizing she was shaking. She laid her palm against his cheek, tears spilling down as she felt him slipping away. "Piers, no, Piers!" She cried, pain welling up inside as she tried to reach her psynergy. Only to find she was too weak as he continued to fade.

"No!" She sobbed, trying to summon Ply, but Mia couldn't find the power to bring him back. "Piers, no! Please no, don't leave me like this!" She shouted, tears blurring her vision as she felt him going cold. Pain, more than she had felt at any other point in her life surged up. No. He couldn't be dead. Not Piers. Not now. Not after everything, not now that they were finally free... She couldn't take the thought, she just couldn't. Mia scrambled back. She had to get help. She just wasn't strong enough to heal.

"FELIX! JENNA!" She screamed as she fell off the bed, she hardly noticed as her wounds tore open, her blood beginning to seep through the bandages. She scrambled to the door, her mind spinning as she pounded on it franticly. Mia fell forwards as the door sung open unexpectedly, Jenna instantly wrapped her arms around her,

"ISAAC!" Felix shouted, coming out of nowhere as he sped into the small room, the other Venus-Adept only a few paces behind.

"No..." Mia said weakly, her exhausted mind just barely picking up on Jenna's presence. Not even enough for her to realize that the other Adept was leading her away, back up to the main cabin.

"No, Piers..."

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All of the warmth cut out it seemed, and Piers stared out blankly into the dull grey mists that had surrounded him.

"Mia!" He shouted, his voice swallowed by the fog. A dull light shone through the clouds blanketing the surroundings, Piers knew it was the one way back into life. He tried to move towards it, one hand out-stretched to try and reach out again.

There was water around him, he realized, like he was standing in the middle of a river. It chilled him to the bone, even though the water only reached up to his ankles. But as he struggled to gain even a few feet, the currents pulled at him, the waters suddenly rising to his knees. Piers lost his footing as the current slammed into him, eddies curling around his legs and forcing him back.

He fell to his knees, his shoulders nearly submerged. Piers clawed at the bottom, trying to find some kind of hold, trying to get back on his feet. His hands met nothing but mud and grime, the currents pushing him back the harder he tried to fight it. The cold of the water was only making it more difficult to breathe.

The waters receded, but Piers had barely a moment to re-claim his feet, before another icy wave brought the stagnant water up over his head.

'No!' He thought franticly, flailing his arms around in a panic. He knew it was futile, but he had to try. This was his element, but coupled with the cold, and his fear and anxiety, he was helpless against it.

Somehow, his hands found something, a jagged tree limb, stuck fast in the mud. Where it had come from Piers couldn't have guessed, but it was there now, and it held as he latched onto it against the current. The filthy water surged over his head again, covering him in grime, the waters retreating back down slightly. But they never moved past his lower half, never gave him any real time to rest. He still hung on though, knowing he would fall eventually, knowing he couldn't fight forever.

'Mia, no...' He felt the icy waters pulling at the remainder of his warmth, Piers knowing for a fact that there was no going back now that his soul held no more life.

Off to the side, in the distance, there was a shift in the mists as though there was something unseen coming through. Piers had no idea what it was, an odd silky light emanating through the fog. It took a few minutes, Piers wasn't sure if that was an accurate guess though, but a figure seemed to appear, coming closer. A woman.

Raven hair hung down her back, framing a pale flawless face. A slender, almost delicate sword hung at her belt, the hem of her silky robes trailed in the waters. The currents didn't seem to affect her, as she strode to where he still remained on his knees. Onyx eyes regarded him indifferently, looking over his disheveled state calmly. The long sleeves of her robes came down near the tips of her fingers, shadowing her slender arms.

She seemed to think for a moment. Ebony eyes moving slowly, from where he hung, up to where the light was fading, his gateway to life closing, down to the small paper in one fine hand.

"Your time is up." She said, her voice holding no emotion, pale fingers toying with the sword at her hip.

"But-" Piers choked, almost being swept away as another wave rammed into his shivering form. "Please..." One fine, jet, eye brow cocked up slightly, a small spark of interest flickering in her eyes.

"Your life has ended. Your gateway is closed. All that is left to you now is Death." She said coldly, glancing again to the small slip held in her graceful fingers. "Or do you wish to challenge the word of the Gods once more?"

'I'd follow you, I know I would.' Her voice echoed in his mind, Mia's promise. He didn't want her to follow him, he really didn't. Piers wanted her to hold onto her life, to live it and be happy. But… there was still another part of him, a selfish, greedy part, that wanted to hold her above all else.

"No, but-" The icy waters rose up again, remaining over him longer, before they dropped down once more, and leaving him winded and oddly drained. The woman remained as pristine as ever though, standing over him in silence. "Please, I will, but first-"

"Do you believe you can bargain for your fate?" She asked, that interest suddenly flickering out.

"No..." He replied, spiting out some of the rancid water that had entered his mouth. "No, please, I just... I just want her to be here..." He was numb, that icy water draining him of strength, of his own color…

There was a pause, and Piers saw the wave coming this time. Though his vision only reached a few feet ahead of the woman. He took a deep breath, not willing to give into the persistent ache growing in his arms.

Piers looked up in time to see the woman's eyes go wide, just as the wave reached them both. A shock wave emulated from her, forming a shield from the water, keeping it from him this time. Piers was able to look to either side and see the grey water speeding past, for a brief moment he almost thought he saw some one float by, being carried gently by the currents.

"Go on." Piers gave a start and saw the Deity still watching him, her face remaining totally blank as she beckoned him to continue speaking.

"I-I don't want to die..." He stuttered, her eyes narrowed slightly, and Piers hurried to make himself clear "But-but I know I have to now, that there's no going back." He swallowed as another wave was blocked, though there was still a large amount of water around him, still trying to drag him away. "Please, I'll go, but, but I want Mia to be here... I couldn't die with her; at least let us pass through as one..." the woman stood stock still for a moment; Piers noticed her fiddling with the small paper in her hand.

Yet another wave came at them, Piers shut his eyes to block out the spray that shot out at him. He couldn't wipe it away as he forced his eyes open again; he looked around for the woman only to find that she had vanished. In her place, the fine sword she had worn was held straight up, blade first in the mud. The weapon did not act like a barricade against the water, and Piers once more had to fight the insistant pull of the icy currents.

'For the moment, I shall allow this infraction.' He heard, her cold voice speaking in his mind. 'Do as you will, your way back is blocked, you shall never again walk among the living. See if you can withstand Death's pull until your love arrives. I shall do nothing if you prove unfit for this test.' Piers bent his head in submission, weathering through another wave. He gritted his teeth as he fought to stay strong.

Maybe, in the end, it would all be worth it.

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It took hours.

Hours and hours, before they finally gave up.

Mia sat in the corner of the main cabin, cerulean eyes unseeing, as the others were constantly making their way in and out of the room. She kept her head bent down, just staring at her clasped hands, resting neatly in her lap. Sheba and Jenna took turns trying to comfort her, Jenna often having to leave to try and help, Sheba because she was in need of comfort herself.

Some time in the chaos Leon, Hydros, and Lunpa appeared. The Lemurians simply vanishing down-stairs too try and help. Lunpa remained upstairs though, helping to try and comfort Mia and the rest. Everyone seemed to help everyone else, as they kept trying to revive Piers. But Mia was unresponsive as she awaited what was coming next.

It still came all too soon. Felix and Isaac came up, both looking far older than eighteen and nineteen. They looked worn from spending their powers over and over again, eyes drawn and cheeks hollow as if they too were in need of healing. Despite how calm she had appeared, or perhaps, traumatized, Mia couldn't stop the tears from coming as she heard two simple words.

'He's gone.'

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"...Mia?"

"Yes, Megan?"

"Mia, we're worried..."

"About what?" Justin danced from foot to foot as he looked around the small room in Mia's home. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the Healer's house, though a few items from her travels now decorated the small space. Among the herbs and dried plants that had always adorned Mia's home, old armor, and small trinkets from around the world now also hung up on the walls.

"Mia it... It's been a year. Are you sure you're alright?" He asked; Mia paused for a moment, glancing at the two from where she was standing near the small window. She glanced back out at the storm that had blown up around Imil.

Alright? She hadn't been alright in a long time. Mia had seen the symptoms herself once Piers had died, morbid thoughts and a lack-luster spirit, the most noticeable changes. She had begun sealing herself off from the others, oddly, not caring as she saw how she hurt them with this. In the end she had hardly spoken, only managing a few short good-byes as she had been brought back to Imil, unable to stand remaining on his ship anymore, and unwilling to live in Vale.

"I'm fine, you two." She said softly, "Why don't you both go, and spend some time outside, or tend the Sanctum?" She suggested; her voice still very quiet. She heard the two children murmur their good-byes and leave. Knowing there was little more she would say to them.

Mia waited a few minutes, standing there unmoving in the dim light. Only two candles in the center of the small room giving off any light.

The air stank in the small home, the place reeking with the sour stench of liquor and filth. He'd given up. Plain and simple, he'd given up.

Mia sat on a small chair in the main room, a table near one window holding many bottles of different sizes and colors. This city had many fine drinks, that being made more obvious by the moment.

Mia walked over to the small stove, placing a few small logs on the fire to build up some heat. Before walking over and filling a small kettle with water.

"Wish ye didn' have te see me like this..." He muttered drunkenly, sounding sick as he stumbled slightly back to his chair, his foot knocking against a few discarded bottles on the floor. "Bu' there's nothin' left... Nothin' t'all..." Mia nodded, averting her eyes slightly.

Mia looked up as the kettle whistled from the escaping steam, removing it from the metal panel and placing it on the cutting board. She moved mechanically to where the cups were kept, bringing out a smaller ceramic one, a souvenir from Xian. Something called Porcelain.

"Gods... 'M pathetic..." He said with a hint of self-loathing, "Can' take a pain withou' gettin' drunk..." She glanced back at him as he took a deep drink from the bottle he had picked out. He was unshaved and filthy, and Mia doubted he had been eating.

"He was the last member of your family." She said softy, her voice lacking any kind of emotion. He nodded at her statement.

Mia opened one of the small cupboards, reaching in and searching the spices. Her dead eyes were only half-reading the labels as she chose one.

"We're alike..." he said, his words slurred in a way that would cause people to doubt his mental well-being. "But so different..." he paused to take another drink, coughing slightly and causing a small bit of the rum to dribble down his chin. "I take me drinks and kill my body..." He muttered, before pointing one shaking finger at her, his head flopping to one side as he tried to get a better look at her. "You go all the way and defeat yer mind..."

Mia carefully began spooning some small shredded leaves into the steaming water, slowly stirring it until it grew to a deep brown color. Dark enough that she could see her own reflection, and smell the bitterness of the drink, something to help calm her nerves.

"You'll be with him soon." Mia whispered as she stood. The Healer placed one hand on the distraught man's shoulder as she passed by.

"You remind me so much of Fiona..." He whispered, she paused a moment, her fingers feeling the softness of his Lemurian garb. "Or... was it Alice?" Mia closed her eyes as she continued past him and out the door, out into the crisp autumn night, allowing her feet to take her to the grave-yard.

She could not remain with a man who could no longer recall his own sister's name.

Mia raised the fine cup to her lips, hardly noticing the coppery taste of the tea, it far stronger than it should have been.

Her footsteps echoed slightly through down the cobble-stone streets, banner's still hanging from windows, swaying gently in the chill winds. No one was out this late, and few knew of the death as Hydros was unsure of whether or not to announce it to the city. Lunpa looked as if he truly would not leave his tower again, and, for once, Conservato wasn't rubbing this in Hydros's face.

She stepped into her room, careful not to spill her drink as she moved through the dim light. Mia paused as she passed the dresser, a small toy sitting below the mirror in the shape of a Mercury Djinni. The stitching was messy, but finer in some places where the seams must have torn and re-sown. The Djinni's eyes were two polished yellow rocks, with a fabric lip that tightened around them to keep the stones in place. The name Sally was awkwardly stitched into the tail.

Conservato had been oddly quiet when the King had addressed the Senate with the death. And she had heard talk that he had gone straight to his daughter's home in the city. Mia and the others hadn't been aware that Conservato held any family connections. But she chose to push the old politician from her mind as she came to the arch that led to the cemetery.

Mia felt a bit drowsy as she sat down on her bed, taking another swallow of tea as she felt her eyes drifting shut without her control.

There was only a hand-full of tomb-stones in the small, quaint part of the city, the monuments each set in orderly rows.

Her moves were slow, and some-what graceful as she walked along the rows, remembering faintly, the small, private ceremony that had taken place just that afternoon. Guards had been posted at the entrance to the ceremony, to prevent anyone from wandering in while they were there.

Everyone had worn their best armor and weapons to the ceremony, feeling obligated to honor him in some way. Prayers had been uttered, hoping for his safe passage, asking for his peace. Other then that there had been almost no talking; no one had had the heart to give a eulogy, perhaps they hadn't wanted to say something that would truly mean he was gone...

Not even King Hydros had left with dry eyes.

Mia placed her cup down on the small table near the side of the bed, feeling the herbs she had mixed in taking effect, but working much faster than they should have.

There he was.

The ever-present fogs parted slightly, revealing a fresh grave near the far end of the Cemetery. Everyone had been greatly distressed at the lack of flowers. Even in this warm part of the world, autumn had already claimed most of the fine blossoms. They had had made do with what they could find or make, in most cases improvising. There were many shells along Lemuria's beaches, large and very beautiful. As a group they had scoured the coast line searching for the brighter ones, placing them in front of the tomb-stone.

She closed her eyes as she lay flat on the bed, feeling slightly at peace as she drifted to sleep, not noticing how heavy her limbs felt, how hard breathing became.

Mia walked around the tomb-stone slowly, running her fingers along the name inscribed on the front. She came to a pause as she reached the back, her eyes drifting back to the city, her ears picking up the distant sounds of shouting from within the walls. The fog seemed thicker near the tops of the houses, a particularly large cloud glowing with an angry, crimson, light.

Fire...

Mia's memories became dreams as she slept, and in her dreams she could see the charred remains of Leon's home. Could gaze upon the skeletal remains found inside, blackened by the intensity of the fire. And again, Mia could hear her own voice, telling him that he would be with his kin soon.

So, soon…

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"Sir?"

"Yes?"

"Is everything alright? You... You haven't said anything,"

"Yes... ev… everything is... just fine. Thank you for delivering this, Imil is... a long ways off."

"Oh, ah... if there is anything you would like sent back sir? I would be pleased to see it there safely."

"Yes, thank you." Felix didn't look up from the letter in his hands, the messenger, still travel-worn taking this as a dismissal, and leading himself towards the Valean Inn.

"What is it, Felix?" Jenna asked, her brother still not looking up, waiting a moment before replying.

"Mia's dead." He said quietly, the activity around him stopped, and the Adept looked up into the questioning eyes of his friends.

"What?" Garet muttered, breathing a bit hard from carrying lumber all day, Isaac not asking as he simply snatched the letter from the other Venus-Adept. Cornflower eyes scanning Megan's neat writing, his expression disbelieving as he read through it again.

"When?" Sheba asked, her voice sounding choked, "What happened?" Felix just shook his head,

"According to Justin and Megan, Mia wasn't completely aware of what was going on around her, just like when we left her there." He said quietly, "She wasn't needed in Imil like she was before, Hermes Water keeping everyone fit and healthy, and Mercury Lighthouse fired, no longer in need of guarding." Felix paused for a moment as Kay and Aaron came over, Garet's siblings with the same fiery hair, eyes, and attitude, if lacking in the areas of brute strength.

"What's wrong, Garet?" Kay asked, looking at her brother questioningly, her carrot red hair tied back behind her head as she was covered with cloth fibers, the smaller child, Aaron mimicking his sister both with the look she gave and with his appearance. They both seemed concerned as he didn't meet her eyes or respond.

"She knew what she was doing." Isaac said calmly, his eyes getting that same look they had atop Mars Lighthouse, when they'd learned of the Wise-One's last test. Hard, firm, but breaking up inside.

"Isaac..." Jenna let the words drop,

"Mia wouldn't poison herself by accident, Jenna." The other adept replied, glancing back down at the letter, ignoring Kay's shocked look, Ivan nodded though,

"She loved him; she was as good as dead without him. Maybe this way, they can both be happy, like they never had a chance to." Felix bent his head,

"Hopefully, they'll be together, I wouldn't put it past Piers to have waited for her this whole time. He could be stubborn when he wanted to be."

There was a mutual moment of silence, the bustle of the half-built Vale fading in their minds. Each one was paying their silent tribute to their friends who were together at last.

Fin

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Title: Hidden Currents.

Genres: Romance, Drama.

Main characters: Mia, and Piers.

Length: 19 official chapters + 1 Alternate Ending. Total 67,547 words in length.

Review Count: 88

Inspirational Songs: Say Anything- Good Charlotte, Emotionless- Good Charlotte, My Immortal- Evanescence, Missing- Evanescence, Half Pain- Taku Iwasaki (Witch Hunter Robin OST), Kyrie- Taku Iwasaki (Witch Hunter Robin OST)

Published: May 14th, 2004

Completed: September 18th, 2004

Edit/Rewrite Completion date: November 14th, 2006