Chapter Seven

Krissy laid Becky down carefully in her bed, placing the covers over her tiny body and stroking the hair away from her face. Kissing her on her forehead, she stood up and turned to look back at Barney. The room was still dim despite it being 6:30 AM; the dark curtain over Becky's window kept out the light and no one had bothered to flip the light switch on when they entered so the two young adults faced each other half shrouded by shadows. Barney's eyes shone through the dimness like hot coals burning lustfully for life, leaving a weakening feeling in Krissy's knees as she stared into them uncontrollably.

"Why are you still here?"

The words were spitefully said as if the thought of them made her sick, or the thought of him being on her mind so much. He walked over to the window and pulled the curtain back slightly, looking out at the new sun trying to wake the world with its radiance. His face was sad and full of turmoil, a mirror of how he felt on the inside as he fought to find himself among the mixed feelings.

"I wanted to make sure you got home safe, Krad could have known where you lived and been waiting for you to return."

"Well, you can see he's not here…"

Her words echoed in his mind and said something different, they were telling him to leave without really saying it. His eyes flashed over to her as he said, "May I ask you something?"

"I…I guess."

"Why help me if you despise me so much?"

"I …well…you were Becky's friend and I thought after I left you at the hospital I wouldn't have to see you again."

"That doesn't really answer my question."

"Well, what do you want me to say?"

He started slowly walking toward her, the same look in his eyes that had made her uncomfortable that morning. She backed away and said, "Don't come any closer!"

"You're very defensive, and you're treating me like a rapist…like I intend to molest you."

"You're molesting me with your eyes…"

"If I am it's not intentional. Obviously my eyes still know who they are, who I was, how I looked on women. I don't know why I do the things I do, they just happen…"

"What, so you're trying to tell me you can't stop acting this way simply because 'it must be how you used to act'? That's so lame! And what if you were a murderous whacko, would you use the same excuse if you got it in your head to kill me?"

Barney laughed and forced a frown on Krissy's face.

"No harm can come from a look, Krissy…I can't do anything to you with my eyes."

"Yes you can! You can make me pretty darn uncomfortable with just your lusty stares."

"Lusty, eh? I was thinking more like…playful."

"Please, just go away…"

"Do you really want me to? Or are you afraid of letting me stay a little longer?"

"Take your pick!"

Barney sighed and turned his back to her, his gaze hitting the floor like a child scolded for stealing a cookie.

"I…don't have anywhere to go. If I wandered the streets everyone would think I was a freak because I'm dressed like a male prostitute and my hair is some unnatural color of purple, as are my eyes. No one would help me…I might as well go to Krad and say 'alright, you can kill me now!' cause without help, I'm doomed."

"You have that bunny thing."

Krissy pointed down to With and he blinked his large eyes, hopping up onto Barney's shoulder. Barney softly pet With as he said, "He can't help me, he can't even speak English."

"He must know where you live if he's your pet, pets can find their way home."

"But what if I don't like what I find? What if I find out I'm really some kind of felon or some other dark person."

"Dark?…"

Krissy blinked her eyes at the word.

"Yes, as in evil? Vindictive, malicious, wicked…take your pick of terms."

"Look, maybe this whole amnesia thing is like a chance of redemption for you, God's way of saying 'hey look, you can change, become a new person' or something. Maybe instead of trying to find the old you, you should try to make a new life for yourself."

"But what if my old life included people I cared about? It's not fair to just start over and leave them in the lurch."

"Well…I don't know what to say to you, Barney! What do you want me to do?"

He turned around and looked deep into her eyes, saying with an equally low tone, "Help me, don't leave me alone…I started out this journey alone and I don't want to finish it that way. If I never find out who I really am I don't want to be by myself, I need someone to be with me…I feel like I've never been alone once in my life and it scares me to think that I'm alone now. I don't mean to impose myself on you but I just feel a great connection to you, like you remind me of someone I was attached to both emotionally and physically. Please, just…come with me, help me find…me."

His hand had somehow found its way to her cheek, running back gently through her red hair. She tensed up and bit her lip, caught off guard by his sudden advancement on her.

"Please…"

She wanted to say no but she found her body refused to respond to her wishes, somehow his touch had gotten a hold of her heart and it had fallen for him like a fat cat on a sink. Her eyes looked hopelessly into his as she said lamentably, "What do you want me to do?"

"Just come with me, that's all I ask."

With one final sigh, she gave in to his wishes and took his hand. He smiled thankfully and said, "Now my thought is if we let With here fly us to wherever it is he came from, maybe it'll be easier than walking or driving."

"With?"

"That's the bunny's name."

"You decided to call it 'With'?"

"No, he told me that was his name, last night."

"I thought you said he couldn't speak English!"

"You don't have to be able to speak someone's language to share your own name. The poor little guy seemed to have a hard time just doing that much, you'd think I would have tried to teach him how to speak if I knew him so well."

With seemed to sigh at this comment before transforming into the black wings he was before, firmly attaching himself to Barney's back. It startled Krissy and she said, "What if…With forgets he's a pair of wings and we fall to our deaths!"

"Something inside me tells me we can trust him so don't worry, I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

"Okay…"

He quickly scooped her up into his arms and said, "Hold on to me."

His feet rose off the floor as the wings beat fiercely, carrying them both into the air. Krissy instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and he tried not to grin as they tipped forward and sped out of the room and into the sky.

Chapter Eight

"Are we almost there yet?"

Krissy sighed as she leaned her head on his shoulder, the long flight making her sleepy.

"I have no idea, I can't remember what happened to me. The last thing I remember is waking up in a river so who knows how far I floated before landing on shore."

"Oh…well, at least make sure this thing knows what it's doing and not taking us for a joyride."

"With, are we almost there?"

Barney yelled back at his wings and they suddenly tilted to the side, protesting to the sudden change in flight pattern.

"Kyuu!"

They looked down and saw a row of small houses bunched together near a river, looking peaceful and content in their tight arrangement.

"This place seems familiar to me…there, that one!"

Barney pointed to a cream-colored cottage with a blue roof along a narrow, winding street and With headed for it. They gently landed and With popped back into bunny form, perching on his shoulder as Barney said, "I guess we're here."

He let Krissy down and they walked together to the front door, finding the house locked and a note posted on the door. Barney pulled it off and read it out loud, "If you get back before we do, make sure you give your father a call to say you're safe. - Mom"

"I guess your mom left to find you…what are you doing!"

Barney was sticking the note card in the crack of the door and fiddling with it, carefully moving it about until he managed to somehow open the door. Pulling it open, he said, "She said to call my dad, I can't do that unless I go inside and use the phone. After you…"

"Gosh, you're like a burglar or something…"

They walked into the house, checking out the rooms and wandering around a bit before heading back into the foyer.

"I'm gonna look around upstairs, maybe there's some clues up there."

"In the attic?"

Reluctantly, she followed him up to the top floor of the house, finding a small room there filled with art supplies and various items owned by a boy. Barney noticed a half covered painting and pulled the drape off out of curiosity. His heart began to pound and he backed away, clutching at his chest and staring on as if mesmerized by it.

"What? What is it? Barney?"

"This…this girl…it hurts to see her…I don't understand…"

Krissy grabbed the drape and threw it over the painting, releasing Barney from its hold on him. He let out a hefty sigh and cast his eyes on the floor.

This place is dangerous for my health! It'll probably be safer to just leave and try to find this woman who claims to be my mother-

With nudged his leg and stared up at him until he got his attention, then pointed to a desk by a partially open window. Barney slowly moved toward it and found a picture propped up by some books. Picking it up, he saw inside the frame a boy with red hair next to an older woman with short brown hair who was hugging him. With hopped up onto the desk and cheerfully chirped, "Daisuki!"

"No…Daisuke…I…I recognize this face…"

"Nice hair, who is he?"

"I'm not sure but…I think he's the person I've been missing so much."

"A little boy? Is he like…your brother?"

"I don't think so, I think it's deeper than that."

"Woah…you're not…you know…"

"Hey! I am not gay! Do you think I'd flirt with you so much if I were?"

Krissy stared at him blankly and he blushed, quickly turning away and scratching his head. Krissy turned away as well and said, "Well, you're home, you found your 'special person', I think I'll be heading home now…"

She started for the stairs but Barney whirled around and grabbed her arm, saying, "Wait, don't!"

"Let me go! Get o-"

An unexpected earthquake shook the house and Krissy lost her balance, falling backward down the stairs. Barney quickly wrapped one arm around her waist while holding onto the doorframe with the other, holding on tight until the ground settled. Both teens stared into each others eyes, their hearts racing inside of them and causing their breathes to come faster.

"Are you…okay?"

Krissy just blushed as she tried to stand up with Barney's help. The house shook again and they tumbled backward into the room.

"What the heck!"

Krissy exclaimed, trying to get off of Barney before something else threw her into his arms unwillingly. Sitting up, he ran to the stairs yelling over his shoulder, "Stay here and don't come down until I come for you! With, protect her!"

"Kyuu!"

With suddenly transformed into a mirror image of Barney and grabbed Krissy, pushing her toward the desk and underneath it. He crouched in front of her and kept guard as she curled up and wished this nightmare would end.

Chapter Nine

"Brother! Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

Krad formed another ball of invisible energy and threw it at the house, causing part of the foundation to disappear and make the building unstable. Just as soon as he prepared to launch another attack, Barney exploded out of the front door and tackled Krad to the street. Rolling across the asphalt locked in battle, they fought to stay on top and crush the other's head into the ground. Finally, Krad managed to get a foot under Barney's gut and pushed him off and into a neighbor's yard where he tumbled across the grass. Getting to his feet, Krad straightened his jacket and said, "Well, you're showing some of that old fiery spirit of yours, brother! It'll make killing you all the more fun!"

"In your dreams!"

With a swift leap, Barney dodged Krad's energy ball and landed in a tree before flipping down to the ground to avoid another attack. He ran across the lawn and took a flying leap at Krad again but met his wing as it slapped him to the ground. Krad stepped on his shoulder as he tried to get back up, forcing him down hard and painfully crushing his bones in spite. Barney let out a cry of pain as Krad clicked his tongue at him, saying, "I'm disappointed in you, brother, you usually put up a better fight than this."

"I…have a name, Krad!"

"Of course you do, but you don't know what it is, do you? Why would I want to give you the pleasure of being enlightened when I can torture you more easily this way?"

"You sadistic son of a-"

"Now now, be NICE!"

Krad slammed his heel into Barney's shoulder and he screamed, feeling his shoulder dislocate under the pressure. Stepping back, Krad pulled Barney to his feet by his collar and looked him in the eyes to grin before bringing his knee up into his stomach. He threw him to the ground again and watched in amusement as Barney tried to crawl away, feeling as if he was going to fall apart any minute now. Right as Krad was about to launch a final blow on Barney with his energy blast, a burst of light blinded him and he backed away.

"GAH! I thought you were lost!"

The light wouldn't cease so Krad finally turned and flew away, vowing to return to finish the job later. The light faded away and left Barney lying alone in the street, no energy left to even think of moving. As he felt the grips of unconsciousness pulling him down, his body was turned over and pressed close to a warm surface. Looking up with shaky eyes, his blurred vision saw a fuzzy red mass looming over him and muttering something inaudible to his ears. With a soft voice, Barney whispered, 'Dai…suke…? You…came back…"

He ultimately used his last strength and went limp in the arms of his rescuer, leaving his fate in their hands.