I love holding the suspense. Ufufufufufu... anyway, been really depressed this week, so I never got around to writing chap 12, so you'll just have to wait, huh? (trust me, I hate it as much as you do.)

Warning: My magic descriptions are HORRIBLE! If you can help, please. I need help. DESPERATELY.

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Krad: So I finally come out...

Dark: WHY?!?!?!?!

Seena58: Because if he doesn't, it's not right!

Dark: Maybe I should kill you now... Daisuke won't stop me.

Seena58: Kyaaaaaaaa----! (flees)

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Chapter 11: Connections

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As Satoshi entered the classroom ten minutes after Daisuke had been taken home, the teacher looked up.

"Ah, Hiwatari-kun," she nodded understandingly, "Takada-san told me where you were, so you may take your seat."

Without a word, the blue-haired boy went to his seat, not even making eye contact with Akane as she sat there. When he sat down, the teacher continued on their lesson, and Satoshi stared out the window, having no need to take in any of it.

:Healing magic...: he thought, :how was it that that girl could even use it...:

::Everyone can use magic, Satoshi-sama,:: Krad said, ::it just depends in how much they actually possess. Healing isn't too special, although it has been a while since I saw someone use it.::

:...: he continued to look out the window, :so then her magic power isn't that much...:

Krad was saying something in reply, but Satoshi was no longer paying attention to his other, as something appeared just outside the window. Frowning slightly, he stared hard.

A wisp of red energy hovered slightly, and then vanished.

---

"Nghh..."

"Daisuke! You need to rest!" said Emiko's worried voice. He opened his eyes wearily as his mother placed a damp cloth on his forehead, clucking worriedly, "Mother is here now, so just rest and you'll be fine soon."

"Mum..." he whispered, but she merely shook her head.

"Rest," she said soothingly, "everything will be fine," her voice then took a slightly harder tone, "but you have a job tonight. Will Dark be able to take it?"

"I'll... ask..." Dark? HEY DARK?!

... huh... what? Daisuke? the Thief jerked awake and seemed confused, What's up? And what happened to you?

... you were asleep this WHOLE time? despite being sick, Daisuke seemed ready to argue with his alter ego, You have been sleeping so much today, something's going on.

What makes you think that? asked Dark, although he couldn't fully cover his uneasiness, Nothing is going on. there was a bit of nervous laughter before he continued, So, what happened to you? Is school over already?

No, Daisuke replied bitterly, got a fever and was sent home.

Oh.

There was a thoughtful pause between the two before the red-head continued.

Mum wants to know if you can go tonight? he continued, 'Cause you know... when I caught a cold...

I feel fine, snapped Dark, so I guess you'll just have to leave everything to me!

"... Dark said he'll be... fine..." the boy managed to rasp out to his mother, before falling back to sleep. Emiko jumped up in worry before rushing out of the room for medicine and who knows what, leaving him in peace.

"Daisuke..." whispered Dark, appearing next to boy. Brushing a hand over Daisuke's forehead, the Phantom Thief sat back, closing his eyes in frustration, "Why now..." he muttered in annoyance. As he watched over the sleeping boy, he noticed a flash of energy, which didn't belong to him. Focusing his power to the small amount, his eyes widened as he traced it back to its originator.

"No..." he whispered, "This is...!"

---

"Akane-chan!"

Akane stopped and turned in time to see Riku and Risa running up to her as the school bell rang out for the end of the day. She waited until they reached her, "Is something wrong?"

"Niwa... kun..." panted Riku, "he's... sick... so..."

"You're worried," she nodded in understanding, "well, it seems he'll be alright now. You shouldn't worry too much."

"But, you know," started Risa thoughtfully, "Niwa-kun didn't seem too sick when we talked, so how..."

Akane looked up at the cloudless sky, "I don't know. It's strange."

"Okay..." Risa nodded to her twin, "we better get home, Riku."

"Yeah..." the older girl gave Akane a pleading look, "do you..."

"Eh?"

She shook her head, "No, it's nothing I want to talk about right now. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you."

Once the Harada twins were out of sight, Akane continued to walk, her eyes focused on the pavement below her. Kicking the loose gravel in between steps, she looked up at the leaves, which were now a rich golden-brown colour. She stopped for a second, stooping down to pick up one of the leaves and twirled it, watching as the colours flashed with the last rays of the sun.

'Why now of all times?' she wondered in frustration, dropping the leaf, 'It just doesn't seem right. Unless...'

'Akane?'

"Yes?" sidestepping into a deserted alleyway, Akane tilted her head slightly as another voice entered her mind, "What is it this time?"

'Tonight they will both be there,' Celes explained, as if she didn't know already, 'so I think this is the best time to explain everything to them before they actually have to do it.'

"You think?" she frowned, "I still believe that it is a bit too early for them to even be involved."

'We can't waste anymore time, though!' protested Celes savagely, "It may be stable now, but who knows what will happen in the next few months, if not days! We can't take anymore chances!"

"The Flame..." whispered Akane, not paying too much attention to what the other girl was saying, "it can't hold out for much longer... but to do it now is..."

'Akane... you trust these people, don't you?'

"Yeah, I do."

'Then you'll just have to trust them with this.'

"... you're right, Celes, I can't doubt them," Akane flicked her fringe out of the way, "okay, tonight it is."

'Thanks,' she suddenly sounded relieved, 'I'll have everything ready by then.'

"Okay, later."

Leaving the shadows of the alleyway, Akane took a look at the sky as it faded into a rusty-orange type of colour as the sun sank out of sight. Reaching over to the broach pinned in her hair, she let its warmth enter her hand.

'So is this what their destiny is?' she asked herself, 'Do they have to fight our battles?'

---

That night it was the usual routine for Dark; fly down, gas any guards present, go to said artwork, get distracted by Hiwatari, steal artwork while Hiwatari gets distracted by With or someone else, fly away. Simple.

Dark couldn't help but snort at how disorganized the security guards were as he passed by them without even being noticed.

This is gonna be easier than I thought, eh, Daisuke? he asked coolly as he moved in the direction of where the artwork was said to be without setting off a single alarm.

Daisuke didn't reply however, and the Phantom Thief shook his head slightly, concerned with the boy's condition. Upon reaching the said destination, left wing of the museum, Dark couldn't help but admire the artwork for a few minutes, only to be disturbed by movement behind him. Turning, he watched as Satoshi entered the wing, still in his school uniform.

"For a moment I thought you weren't coming," sneered Dark, "High Commander."

"And I would've thought that you wouldn't be coming," Satoshi shot back, "with Niwa's condition."

"Daisuke's the one with the fever, not me," protested the Thief, "so keep outta our business."

"So..." the blue-haired boy frowned, "you're risking Niwa's condition to steal a small piece of artwork? You should have just left when you had the chance."

"It's Krad speaking now, isn't it," Dark smirked, "why don't we just settle the score, then? From last night."

This seemed to trigger something within Satoshi, and he struggled physically for a moment before Krad took over. Dark took a few cautious steps backwards, but his smirk was still firmly in place, "So, you decided to come out after all."

"Satoshi-sama was trying to stop me," replied the other coolly, "so, shall we just end this, Dark?"

"Heh," Dark raised his left hand, "With! Come!"

As this was being done, Krad tried to attack him, but only managed to successfully blow a hole in the wall. Flying up, Dark shot a small amount of magic towards Krad, who made his own wings appear and get out of the way.

We can't do it in here, he thought grimly, or the artworks will be ruined.

:Stop this right now, Krad.: Satoshi demanded within the other's mind, :I can take care of him by myself.:

::Sorry, Satoshi-sama,:: drawled Krad as he summoned more energy into his attack, ::but merely catching him won't get rid of him. Killing him along with the Wing Master though...::

:Stop it!:

Just as Krad's attack blew a hole in the ceiling, a sudden blast of fog erupted and filled the entire room. Coughing and cursing slightly, Krad looked around, only to see gray smoke.

"Where--" he spluttered, only to be knocked over by Dark.

"The hell--" started the Phantom Thief as he struggled to get off his mortal enemy, "why now-"

"Get off me," Krad muttered, although he was already in the process of making another move. Gathering all the energy he could, he was about to let it off at the body sitting on top of him, but was stopped short as both of them were sucked into some sort of vortex, "Geh--!!"

"Now what--?"

The world seemed to swirl around them violently. As wind seemed to whip their face mercilessly, Dark could only squint, although there wasn't too much too see. At first it looked like the museum but then, as they continued, it turned into a huge gaping hole and they were now completely surrounded by darkness. Krad was muttering something next to him as the ball of energy he was holding vanished, but the Phantom Thief became suddenly interested in the energy the vortex seemed to possess.

"This magic is..." he started slowly, and Krad fell silent for the first time, "I've felt this before..."

Before anymore could be said, the vortex came to an end, and they both fell to the floor. Just as Dark was about to say something, Daisuke's voice – which was right next to him - made him jump in surprise and horror.

"Wha-... Dark?" the red-head looked around confused, "Why are you... I... what...?"

"How can you be here too?! I though you were sick!" demanded Dark indignantly. Daisuke stared at his other half, surprise stamped on his face as he took a long look at where they were.

"I've... seen this place..." he whispered, and the Thief stopped talking to listen, "I mean... I have a feeling that I've been here once before..."

They seemed to be in a sort of Cathedral-like room, circular in shape and completely shrouded in darkness, with only the moonlight filtering through the dusty windows. The red-head frowned in concentration, trying as hard as he could to summon where the room had come from, but was cut short as Krad's voice came from right behind them.

"So, you are here as well."

"K... Krad?!" Daisuke spun around in surprise and Dark jumped in front of him, "Why are you..."

"Niwa?"

"Hiwatari-kun?!" pushing past the Phantom Thief, Daisuke couldn't help but give Satoshi a perplexed look, "You're here as well? But... how could this be...?"

"So, you all made it here safely," said a calm voice above them, "then I really must thank her..."

"Who's there?!" demanded Dark, "And what's your reason behind this?!"

In the center of the circular room, a swirl of gray mist formed and grew in size until it took the form of a small girl. She had extremely long hair tied up in two high pigtails, which was a shade of crimson and her eyes were sea green. Giving them a calm look, she remained half suspended in the air.

"I have wanted to speak to all of you from the very beginning," she said softly, "but Scarlet truly believed that you were not to be informed until you were truly ready," she sighed, "but now time is running out, and we no longer have a choice. Please sit down and listen to what I have to say."

Krad looked ready to kill, but was forced to remain silent as the others sat down on the cold stone floor. Once they were all seated, the girl continued.

"This is another world... 'our' world," she explained, "and we have never been out of it..."

"..."

"You, as humans, are here spiritually, and that is why both sides are here as flesh," she continued, "but for those who do not understand the complexity of time, then we have no hope for the future. Scarlet wanted to tell you herself, but she put her trust in me, and I will start from the very beginning.

My name is Celes..."

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Now comes the whole blah blah speaking, where she blabs on and on and on.... let's just leave it at that.

I hate myself, and in many states of fury and depression. Why? 'Cause no one, I mean NO ONE, pointed out that I was spelling Satoshi's last name wrong! Been kicking myself ever since, so now... that's why.

Of yeah, re-modified prologue and chapter 1. If you haven't read it yet, then go ahead. Please? Eheheheh... until the next update, then!

Oh yeah, surprise surprise, I need your help. Believe it or not, I cannot read Japanese, thus I have no idea what happened in Volumes 9 and 10. Complete black-out, okay? I've been borrowing the manga from older sister who's currently learning Japanese, but since there were no translations for these... could someone help me? Know where translations can be found? Or just a really descriptive explanation. I kinda need it for the end of the story, and parts of the manga may help. Thank you.