Carolyn's Comments:
Mood: Calm (A little bored)
Rant: I'm sorry I didn't update last Friday, but it was the day we left for a whole week to Las Vegas. My aunt came over to baby-sit the dogs. I finished this chapter on the computer in my room, but my computer downstairs has the Internet and my aunt was hogging it. She wouldn't get off even for a minute. Plus I had my dad pacing back and forth behind me, yelling at me to hurry up and get in the damn car. So after arguing with my aunt, and begging my dad for more time, I gave up and left without updating. Sorry!
Vegas was fun, but they've definitely stopped trying to make it family friendly and just let it slide. Some creeps were standing on the sidewalk trying to hand out card with porno pictures on them. They even tried to hand them off to my twelve-year-old BROTHER! (The real-life Tommy by the way) Sometimes I wonder about the world…
As a side note, I just want to say that this fanfic is going to be AT LEAST twice as long as the first one, so be patient please!
And as another side-note: CAITLIN AND ME ARE PLANNING A WEBCOMIC STARRING CAROLYN, CRONOS, KATIE, CAITLIN, ALEX, AND SAM! MORE DETAILS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!
Riku blinked. Had he just seen that? One minute Sam was grabbing onto the Lifeless, and the next minute they both just winked out of existence. There was no flash of light, no dramatic smoke effects; they were both just gone.
"Where did he-" Sora began to say.
"Be patient."
Riku looked over at Cronos, who was watching the spot Sam had vanished from moments ago. The half-faerie's face was calm.
"I've known Sam for a long time." Cronos said calmly, "He knows what he's doing."
Riku noted the calm attitude that the guardians had suddenly taken on. Even Carolyn, who had been in a state of panic just now, only looked slightly agitated.
Then Riku blinked, and suddenly Sam was standing there again. The boy looked beaten and breathless, but otherwise unharmed. And, Riku noticed with shock, there was no Lifeless with him.
"Alright, show's over." Sam said grinning, "Everybody move along now!"
"You...YOU IDIOT!" Carolyn screamed, "DON'T YOU KNOW YOU COULD'VE DIED!"
"Could, but didn't." Sam said, still smiling. "And anyway, I saved your ass, didn't I?"
"What the hell was that?" Sora demanded.
"One of my powers. Teleportation." Sam said flexing his arm. "I warped outside the universe and let go of the Lifeless before I warped back in."
Raphael blinked. "You just dropped it in another WORLD! You idiot! How could you be so irresponsible!"
"I didn't drop it off in another world." Sam snapped. "I wrapped to the emptiness outside all the worlds and dropped it off. It won't be back again."
"Why not?" Cedric asked frowning, still holding an unconscious Tira.
"There are two parts to existence. One is the inner universe that we live in. On this level of reality, everything has a shape and a form. There are wheres, whens, and everything has a shape that we can see. But in the outer universe, everything there is essence. There's no sense of place or time. Everything out there is broken down to its very life-force, and its body becomes fragments of its base materials. That Lifeless is probably down to its atoms by now. I couldn't destroy its physical form, but I made it incapable of harming anyone."
"How come you didn't get pulled apart then?" Cedric asked.
"It took every ounce of my powers to hold my form together. I have to picture myself and hold it all in place. It's very exhausting, but it works."
"You could've warned us before you pulled such a stupid move!' Carolyn yelled, her anger at Sam's near death unabated.
"It was moving pretty fast! I couldn't exactly pull out a poster board and give a full explanation before I did it!"
Carolyn sighed. "I guess you're right. But you still had me worried."
"Carolyn," Caitlin said calmly, "We've protected you for three years. Do you think we'll be outdone by some little shape-shifting blob?"
Carolyn sighed. "No. If anyone outdoes us, it'll be..." She stopped and her voice trailed off.
"It'll be who?" Kairi asked frowning.
"No one." Carolyn said calmly. "Cedric, how's Tira?"
Cedric suddenly became aware that he was still holding Tira. "Oh! She's fine..." He looked at her face, fell silent, and just stared at her.
Raphael staggered to his feet. "I'll take her to the infirmary."
"Raphael, YOU need to get to the infirmary!" Caitlin snapped. "You almost died just now!"
"I said I'LL take her." Raphael snarled. He pulled Tira from Cedric's arms, and gave him a fierce stare.
It suddenly struck Cedric that Raphael didn't like him. Hell, he probably hated him. Cedric's father had been responsible for the death of Tira and Raphael's parents. Tira was Raphael's twin sister, so Raphael probably saw it as his duty to protect her from the likes of Cedric. And Cedric's sudden closeness with Tira probably only intensified Raphael's loathing.
As Raphael stumbled off, Cedric watched them both go, with a small frown on his face.
Tira thrashed and shook with fear and pain. Her parents were fading away faster and faster. Shadows were eating them up fast. Their faces and features were becoming shrouded and murky as they were swallowed up.
"NO! STOP IT!"
She jolted away and found herself sitting up in a hospital bed, tangled up in the white sheets. Her skin was moist with sweat. Her breath came out in short, fearful gasps.
As her memory became clearer, she quaked. She recalled the way the Lifeless had grabbed her and wrapped her up in its claws of darkness. It lied to her, tormented her with images of her dead parents. She felt cold inside, as if her innards had become ice blocks.
"I told you, you can't go in!"
Tira frowned. Was that Raphael's voice? He must've been right outside the door guarding her. How typical.
"I just want to make sure she's alright."
Tira's eyes widened. Cedric. She got up and scrambled to the door. She pressed her ear against it and began to listen.
"She's fine. Look Cedric, I appreciate you saving her back there, but I'd appreciate it even more if you stayed away from my sister."
Tira blinked. Saved her? Cedric had saved her? A smile formed on her lips, but it was quickly destroyed by what Cedric said next.
"This is because of who my father is, isn't it?"
Tira jerked back as if she'd been shot. Had she just heard correctly? Cedric had something to hide about his father?
He's Ansem's son.
No...couldn't be.
When Raphael didn't answer, Cedric went on, "I didn't choose my parents, Raphael."
"I know you didn't. And I'm sorry. But the fact that you didn't choose him doesn't change the fact that my parents are dead because of your father. You're his flesh-and-blood. Every time I look at you, I see him."
Tira heard footsteps. She had a strong feeling Cedric was starting to leave. Then the steps stopped and he spoke again.
"Born in darkness, raised in darkness," Cedric snarled, "But it doesn't mean I have to live in darkness."
Then the door slammed and his voice was gone.
Tira staggered back, trembling once again. She collapsed back onto the bed, sitting up in shock.
Ansem's son...Cedric was Ansem's son. Raphael hadn't lied to her, it was true. Cedric's father killed her parents. Her heart thumped sadly as she had that thought.
But how? Why? Cedric had always struck her as a good, kind person. A bit indecisive and cold, but not evil. He was good, wasn't he? So how could he be the son of the most wicked man who ever dwelled in reality?
She didn't know. Tira felt tears welling up in her eyes. It could never work. She now knew that Raphael was right. She was a sorceress and the high priestess of White Apocalypse Temple, and he was son of her greatest enemy. She was supposed to hate and despise him with her every breath. (Though Tira knew that wasn't the case)
It could never work.
Tira wept. Every sob echoed with the pain and bitterness that she kept locked up in her heart. The lock was weakening, and the inner grief was flowing out. A faraway thought occurred to her, though she brushed it aside and forgot it until later.
Oh God, I think I've gone and fallen in love with him.
