Return of the really lame random disclaimer skit thingy (Yey!):
Urby: Lalalalalah...
Seldom: Whacha doin'?
Urby: Lalalalalah...wo hey, Seld.
Seldom: Like I said, whacha doing?
Urby: Writing!
Seldom: ...looks like you're playing solitaire.
Urby: SPIDER solitaire!
Seldom: ...and you're not even playing, just pressing the "hint" button and doing what it says...
Urby: Wo hey, even the experts need help sometimes!
Seldom: Speaking of which... (smacks with frying pan) DISCLAIMER!
Urby: Waiii! Uhm...
I don't own TOS and that's that.
Seldom: ...
Urby: You seem to be doing "..." a lot this skit.
Seldom: I was expecting something...more...impressive.
Urby: Deal, dood.

If I am to dream, then I'm bound to wake...

"But...if you aren't Colette, then who are you?"

I retreated under the covers again, regretting my decision.

The woman's voice spoke up. "I think I've heard of this before...something about a Resident Soul..."

Both Lloyd and I simultaneously tipped our heads in a questioning fashion.

The half-elf flipped through a book that she was carrying with her at the moment until she got to the right page. "Resident Soul: a being created specifically to be housed in a body where its current owner, otherwise known as the True Soul, is unavailable for any reason."

She paused to let us take it in, or she lost her place on the page. "When a person leaves their body, a Resident Soul is found or created for them. Usually the Resident Soul does not make decisions while in them, but there have been cases that have done otherwise. While being housed in their new body, a Resident Soul may either take on a personality similar to the True Soul or develop a personality of its own and become powerful enough to reincarnate into another body."

I shifted, there was a draft in the room and it was getting a bit chilly.

"When the True Soul is ready to return to its original body, the Resident Soul either dies or reincarnates."

I nearly fell onto the ground in surprise.

"...Dies?" Lloyd choked.

"That's what it says," she finished, closing the book.

Lloyd sat down on the bed, covering his face. I snuggled back under the sheets, feeling uncomfortable.

"When will this cycle of suffering for someone else end?" he sighed.

She sighed as well. "There's nothing we can do about it. If you want Colette back, this little one here won't exist anymore. Most likely, at least."

Lloyd excused himself and left the room.

"So...when are you going to drag your lazy bum out of bed?" The half-elf threw the covers off the bed and pulled me off of it. "The last thing you need to do is develop bad sleeping habits. Out."

I whined and did as told reluctantly.

"Heyla!"

I turned to look at the speaker, but no one was there. I shrugged and continued walking.

"Down here! Hey! I'm talking to you!"

I turned around and knelt to look at the speaker. It was the little yellow fox I heard the summoner refer to as "Corrine".

"Are you a Resident Soul?"

I nodded.

"You got a name?"

I shook my head.

I'm just a shadow of a soul...shadows don't deserve names...

Corrine blinked in thought.

"Shadow!" he blurted, bouncing in place.

...What about my shadow?

"That should be your name!"

...If you say so...

Corrine bounded up and down, trying to remember what he wanted to say next.

How do you know about me being a Resident Soul?

"I was listening to your conversation with the crazy lady...err, the Professor."

I looked at him blankly.

"..."

I'm getting really good at these staring contests, it seems...

Corrine wagged his many tails impatiently.

And?

"It turns out...I'm a sorta Resident Soul too!" Corrine jumped about.

...So? How? And why are you so bouncy? I picked him up to have a better look at him. Hyper little critter, aren't you.

"Sheena dropped me in a cup of coffee today. Anyway, like I was saying, since both of us are Resident Souls, that maybe I can help you."

I stared at him in surprise.

Help me what?

"I hear you talking, thinking, ya know, to yourself sometimes. You say things like, 'I don't deserve to live anymore', 'They should be together', and stuff like that. So, I was thinking, I can help you."

Again...help me what?

The small beast twitched and puffed up in frustration. "You, you no wanna live, want Colette to come back. Me, I help you do that. Got it?"

I chuckled, he did look awfully cute and silly looking like a yellow cotton ball.

"So...yes or no?"

Yes, I'd like your help. But...how can you be 'sort of' a Resident Soul?

Corrine grinned, revealing a nice set of pointy teeth.

"Wouldn't you just love to know?" he cackled, jumping on my shoulder. "Now...to the library!"

Library? Why...?

"We're in Sybak. There's a library. That's where we're gonna find out how to fix our problem."

...I thought you knew what to do.

"Yes, I do," Corrine yanked on a strand of hair. "We go to the library, find out what we gotta do, and do it. Now off we go!"

"Sorry, library closed to general public," the guard drawled, placing a metal spear in the way.

"Awww, man!" Corrine groaned softly, so that the guard couldn't hear. "Now what?"

We insist, I told him, taking the spear and crushing it with my hand.

"Aha," Corrine nodded, playing along. He leaped onto the guard's chest, teeth bared, fur on end and barked, "We ain't general, and we ain't the pubic neither!"

The guard scrambled out of the way, clearly shocked. Corrine hopped back onto my shoulder, settling down. I tried to open the door.

It's locked...

"We could ask Mr. Scaredy Pants for the keys, but that's boring! C'mon, kick the door down! You can, can you?"

Of course I can, I smirked, cracked my knuckles, and threw myself against the door. It crashed down, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.

"Wow," the guard coughed. "I've seen it all now. Three-tailed talking yellow mice and this creepy silent girl who destroys buildings."

"I'm not a yellow mouse!" Corrine yelled.

"Hey!" the librarian growled, not looking up from a book he was scribbling in, which was much bigger than he was. "This is a library, be quiet!"

"Sorry!" Corrine whisperhissed.

"And fix the door, willya?" he sighed, scribbling some more in the book, acting as if people knocked it down every day.

Where're some books that'll help us?

Corrine sprung from my shoulder and started walking on the bookshelves, reading the book titles. Occasionally, he would pull one out and dropped it to where I stood, ready to catch them.

Corrine! Stop! They're really heavy!

Corrine looked at the quantity of volumes we had collected and agreed it might be enough.

"Huzzah, hardcore studying," he groaned.