Disclaimer: Not mine! (sob).

Truth Is Like Iced Water. It Shocks You When It Hits You, But No-one's Ever Died From It.

Anon

We found Naniwa Kawashima easily enough. However, the only help he was able to give us was to direct us to Yuri's father's home village. So, we headed straight there.

We had to pass through a forest to get there. Halfway through, I stopped. Ahead of me, Karin and Margarite looked around.

"Lets stop here," I said. Margarite looked round. She began to speak, but something in my expression stopped her. She looked pale. I sat down and she came to join me.

"I…" began Karin. "I can go away if you want me too,"

Margarite shook her head. "No," she said. "No, it concerns you too,"

"Me?" Asked Karin, looking as surprised as I felt.

Margarite nodded. "Now," she said. "This is going to sound weird. It may not make much sense – I'm not sure if I understand it myself. But don't interrupt,"

We both nodded.

"Now, I'm going to tell you a story," she said. "I need to tell you everything now. You'll…you'll know why soon." She stopped. "The…the first thing…I guess the first thing you need to know is how Yuri died," she said. She looked down at her hands. "A harmonixer usually ends up losing his soul to the monsters inside him. That's how Yuri died. He lost his soul to the Seraphic radiance,"

"But…but he woke up," I stammer, "In Bistritz, he woke up. He seemed fine!"

"Yes. For a while. He hadn't dealt with the problem, just escaped for a time. In the end, Atman, the god of souls, claimed him,"

"Oh," I say, looking down at the ground.

"Wait," she says. "There's more,"

I look up at her. She isn't meeting our gazes.

"I have to tell you this now. Basically…this is my second time around,"

"What do you mean?" I ask, clueless.

"I mean…I've lived through this time before. I lived through this year. Then I came back to this time,"

"What?" asks Karin.

"Just accept it. It will make sense later,"

"Um…Okay…"

"Originally, Alice…Well, you remember when I woke you up in Bistritz? When you went unconscious? Well, originally I wasn't there. I didn't wake you up. You went into Yuri's mind. You made a soul pact with Atman. You exchanged your soul for Yuri's," she looks up now, meeting my gaze. "You died, Alice. You, not Yuri,"

I gape at her. There is nothing to say.

"I…died?" I whisper. She nods. "Wait…" I say. "You stopped me from saving Yuri back there? You?"

She nods. I jump to my feet. "I would have died for him!" I cry. "Willingly! Margarite, you should have let me die! If he were alive, I wouldn't care what happened to me!"

"Alice," she says. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I…I thought I could save both of you. When Yuri woke up, I thought…I thought it'd be okay. I'm sorry,"

"And what of all those people who've died because of me?" I demand. "Those soldiers? Jeanne? Zhuzhen?"

"Yuri went to Domremy the same as you did. He killed the soldiers. Jeanne died the same way,"

"What about Zhuzhen?"

"Zhuzhen…he…he lived,"

I sit back down. "Oh," I say, my voice small.

"Did I live?" Asks Karin.

"Yes,"

"Is that why you saved me? Because I'd…already survived?"

"Yes."

"How did you…how did you come back?" I ask her.

She explains. "Yoshiko died too. Kato used one of the spells in the émigré manuscript to create a…a clone of her. The spell involved time. When the clone died too, he used the spell to try to take this world back one hundred years into the past. Yuri, Karin, Geppeto, Blanca, Joachim, Lucia, Anastasia and Kurando managed to stop him, but because he'd already started the spell, they couldn't come back out. Kato's last words were to tell them to think of a time they wanted to go to, and they could be there. I followed them there, and I chose to come back and try to save you,"

"I was there?" Asks Karin.

"Who were those people you just mentioned?" I inquire.

"Just…friends of Yuri's. People he met on the journey. Kurando is his cousin. He lives in this village," she turns to Karin. "Yes, Karin, you were there,"

"Was Yuri cursed too?" I ask.

She turns back to me. "Yes," she says. "Yes he was,"

"Did he find a cure?"

She shakes her head. "Alice…I" she looks torn. "No,"

I look at her. "Margarite," I ask fearfully. "Margarite…is there a cure?"

She doesn't say anything.

I take a deep shuddering breath. Her silence says more than her words ever could.

"What happened to Yuri?" Asks Karin, after a moment. "Did he…did he lose his soul?"

"He…he died,"

"Oh," I say. My heart feels heavy.

We all sit in silence for a minute.

"So it was you who saved Kawashima too?" asks Karin eventually.

"Yes," she says. "I sent a telegram to Kato, warning him. He managed to save her. But now I have a question for you, Karin,"

"What?"

"I saw you, in this village," Margarite says, staring at Karin, "You spoke to Yuri. You told him…" she looks at me. "You said to him…Ich liebe dich. Fur immer,"

"What?" Gasps Karin, leaning back a little.

"What?" I ask, frustrated. "What does that mean? Tell me!"

Margarite and Karin are silent. "Tell me! I'm already dead, remember? It doesn't matter what you say!"

They stare at me.

"It means," says Margarite, eventually, "It means…I love you. For ever,"

"What…what did Yuri say?" I ask her, keeping my voice steady.

"He didn't reply," she tells me. She turns back to Karin. "I know it was a different you who said that," she says. "And you did at least say that you knew you'd never match up to Alice. But why? Why did you say that?"

"Because…I don't know! I…because it's true! I've loved him ever since I saw him!" And with that she storms off into the forest.

I stand up too. "I'm going for a walk," I say. I leave, walking in the opposite direction to Karin.