Oh my God I'm so close to the end! It makes me feel kinda sad...

Disclaimer: After twenty chapters, you should have figured out that I do not own Baten Kaitos, its locations, or characters. 'Kay?

Chapter XX: Zenith

Kalas watched Allyr dive into the waters of the Ocean, still skeptical that doing so could summon the Whale to help them. He followed her into the water, driven on by his bond with her. He knew she could feel the cold, and felt her discomfort, if not the cold and wetness itself. She quickly surfaced to take in a deep breath of air, body shivering, before diving back down into the dark Ocean waters.

Nothing happened.

Then their bond broke. It was not the harsh break that resulted from when Morjidza forcefully split them. It was more like the bond just dissolved, eroded and ceased to exist. Kalas found himself to be very alone, very deep underwater. He wondered how he had gotten here, when Allyr had not dived this far down. He began to her an eerie, yet calming sound that seemed to come from the water itself. Was it singing? It was impossible to tell.

Stay or go? Asked a voice in his mind so deep that it seemed to rattle the bones of the earth, Will you stay or go?

Go where? Thought Kalas, not expecting the voice to hear his thoughts.

To where all such souls go, said the voice gently, To heaven. Do you wish to go, or stay?

Um… was the only response he could bring to mind. Then something clicked in his mind, Wait a minute… You're letting me go to heaven?

Yes, said the voice, If you wish, you may go to heaven.

R-really?

Of course, little Spirit. This is not a subject I would joke about.

Kalas floated in silence, his mind reeling with the implications of this statement. He was actually allowed to go to heaven? After all the things he did? It was tempting. He was about to say, "Yes, I'll go" when he stopped himself. What the hell had he been thinking? He can't go yet! Not now, when everybody needs him back the most! If he left now, he would be leaving everyone behind!

I want to stay! Thought Kalas defiantly, hoping the mysterious voice still heard him, And nothing's going to change my mind!

Good,said the voice, seeming pleased, Wise decision. Then go back, little Raven, and go with the blessing of the Great Whale.

Then there was pain. Kalas had never once felt physical pain as a Spirit, and now these spikes being driven into his being were almost too much. This is my gift to you,said the mysterious voice, A second chance.

Kalas felt as if he had been buried alive. Suddenly he was blind, deaf, and paralyzed. Cold water pressed in all around him as if seeking to crush him. He tried to move but could not seem to conjure the strength. His mind became fuzzy and panic-stricken, as if he were drowning.

But how could he drown? He was a Spirit, wasn't he?

No… He had never once felt cold as a Spirit… Never…

He broke the surface of the water. The shock of cold air against his wet skin almost was a shock. So much that he floundered and fell under again. He would have drowned had he not been washed to shore. He clawed at the icy bank, trying to drag himself onto solid ground, while instincts only half-remembered trying to remind him to breathe the whole while. He dragged himself onto the shore like a clumsy fish trying to beach itself. He lay there for a long while, surf playing with his feet, vomiting the water he had accidentally inhaled.

He blinked slowly, trying to make out the blurry shapes in his field of vision. He tried to make sense of the muffled noises that he was hearing. Suddenly everything seemed too real. After the month he had spent as a Spirit, living seemed to be much more vivid. The memories of the past month were like the memories of a dream, distant and unreal. Now that he was confined to a body, things were real.

Kalas blinked, and reached out a hand that felt like lead to touch the cold ice and came to another powerful realization: He could do things now. His power no longer depended on another. He grinned weakly to himself, as this began to sink in. He tried to stand up on shaking legs, but collapsed again when he failed to find the strength. His body felt as if it were made of lead rather than flesh and bone, clumsy and hard to coordinate. He managed to get further up the shore by walking slowly on all fours like an animal.

It took a long while before Kalas could stand on his own. He staggered into Cursa, using the walls of buildings as a support where he could, and made his slow way up to the palace.

It was Kalas, standing there on the icy steps, sword raised to a guard position. His hair and clothes were soaking wet as if he had just gone swimming, and clung to his skin. But it was undeniably Kalas, standing there against all laws of nature, living again. This was not the melancholy Spirit who had been Allyr's Guardian. This was a very alive, and very, very angry living human.

"YOU!" shouted the monster Morjidza again, "You're sssssupposed to be dead!"

"What's your point?" asked Kalas, his voice deadly soft.

"Kalas you idiot!" shouted Allyr as she ran up the Great Staircase to catch up with him, "Don't run ahead now! We just got through putting you back together – What the hell is that?" added Allyr, interrupting herself as she noticed the humanoid blob that was Morjidza, his forearm transformed into a long sword.

"What do you think it is?" asked Kalas, his sapphire eyes never leaving Morjidza, "Who else could it be?"

"…Wow, we missed something important…" said Allyr, hanging back far enough so she could see what was going on, but could not get injured. She was still completely unarmed. Even the dead guy got a sword… she thought bitterly.

"You bassstard!" hissed Morjidza at Kalas, "I wiiiill teach you to sssstay dead!"

"Bring it on," challenged Kalas, raising his sword to a guard position, his bloodlust already screaming at him to attack and take his revenge.

Morjidza roared and ran at him, his attack blocked by an upward thrust from Kalas. The two swordsmen traded blows, trying to navigate the stairs while fighting the other. Morjidza quickly noticed that something was different with Kalas's fighting style. His opponent gripped his sword with both hands, as if it weighed more than he could lift with just one. His attacks were wide and slow, less agile than his attacks had been when they had last fought. Then Morjidza realized what was wrong: After being a Spirit for so long, Kalas had not yet completely readjusted to a body! It must feel like his limbs are made of lead! This was something Morjidza could exploit.

Apparently a similar realization fell onto the other five combatants. Not wanting to lose their friend again, all five dove down onto Morjidza at more or less the same time, while pulling available Battle Magnus from their hands. Morjidza whirled around in time to see Gibari running toward him like a charging bull, paddle raised like a sword ready to strike. Morjidza ducked and sped away with fluid movements, only to be struck in the side by two spells thrown by Xelha and Mizuti simultaneously. He was hurled twenty feet by the force, and landed like a cat in a crouch. Hissing in anger, he jumped onto Lyude who was nearest, sword arm raised. The Imperial fell over as the monster's weight landed on his chest. His rifle discharged with a bang, the shot flying off to hit the distant icy ceiling. Savyna threw herself at Morjidza, dislodging him from her companion's chest and fell down with him a few steps before gracefully jumping away and landing in a perfect guard position.

The fight continued like this for twenty minutes, the six trying to get blows in while Morjidza moved fluidly between their blows, slashing at anything he could. Allyr stood far enough off that she could clearly see the battle, but not get attacked while she was unarmed. The battle was long and hard, and with one blow the battle was decided.

Kalas, with a bleeding arm, snuck up on Morjidza from behind while he was attempting to shatter Gibari's paddle. With a cry he charged Morjidza his sword raised. By the time Morjidza finally turned around it was too late. Kalas hacked at Morjidza with one blow that would have cleaved a normal person in two. It only resulted in Morjidza's body separating into two blobs, attached only at the base where his sword had not reached. Gibari and Kalas jumped back as Morjidza tried to reassemble his body, the substance trying to bend and warp itself into a humanoid form. Then Xelha and Mizuti lauched two light flares at the monster. With a bright flash of light it became clear to everyone that the battle was now finally over.

As the light faded, Mojidza writhed on the ground, shrieking with rage. He moaned and writhed, trying to stand again, but failed. While his body was less solid than what was normal, he still sustained injuries, and they were critical, and would probably be ultimately fatal. The other combatants returned their Magnus hands to their pouches, convinced that the monster would not rise again.

"Nooooooo…" moaned the fallen Morjidza, "I wassss promissssed victory!"

"And so you received it,"

Kalas and the others turned to see Death slowly walking up to Morjidza. She looked down at him, emotionless but nevertheless seemed repulsed by him, as if he were something disgusting that he had to deal with but would much rather not even look at.

"You ssssaid I would have victory!" gurgled Morjidza.

Death nodded, "And so you have," she said calmly, "The flock of Diabolos you sent have attacked Mira. Now a human herald has been sent to deliver the news of the islands' unconditional surrender. You have won, and now just as all other things you must fall. Your Diabolos will be banished back to the Void, your men will become disorganized and leaderless, and all your ambitions will die with you."

"Yoooooou lie!" spat Morjidza, "You lied to meeeee!"

Death shook her head, "Denial will not change the truth," she said, like a schoolteacher to a difficult child, "This is the way of the world."

Morjidza writhed like an animal in its death throws, apparently trying to get up, but failed miserably.

"Long, long ago," started Death, "I asked you what you would do if your victim could not find the way. Kalas did not know how to die, so his vengeful Spirit wandered the earth. Driven by the knowledge of everything you took away from him, he found a way to return and crumbled your newfound empire to dust. Like a wolf killing a helpless frightened sheep."

"Yoooou liiiie!" persisted Morjidza "You LIE!"

"And now, as with all things," said Death, reaching a small pale hand toward him, "It is time to go."

Morjidza writhed and struggled for a moment, shrieking in either rage or terror, it was impossible to tell. When Death touched him he gave one final shudder, and fell still. The substance that made up his body fell away like melting wax. Allyr shuddered at seeing this; she thought it would have been less scary if his death had been violent.

Death turned to the others there and nodded her head in acknowledgement, "Until we meet again." She said calmly, and then vanished as if she had never existed.

Xelha turned to look at Kalas, who in turn looked back at her. Then it really sank in; even though Xelha had seen Kalas alive during the fight, now it really began to have meaning. It was as if the realization that her husband was back had not been completely understood until that moment. Without another word she ran to him and embraced him tightly. He returned the gesture, dropping his weapon in the process to leave it to clatter to the ground and lay there like a forgotten memory. "You're back!" Xelha sobbed into his shoulder, "You're back! You came back!"

"Of course I did," he said soothingly and sincerely into her ear, "I came back for you. You don't have to cry anymore. I'm home now."

"Kalas be back!" shouted Mizuti, "Kalas be back! Allyr not break promise to Great Mizuti!" The sorceress started to jump (as it is possible to jump while already floating three inches above the ground) and whoop with joy.

"Shoulda figured that you'd be too stubborn to die like that," said Gibari, winking Kalas.

The others crowded around the couple, celebrating Kalas's miraculous return. Allyr stood twenty feet away down the stairs, feeling numb. She had not even noticed anything that had happened around her. It was as if she had turned to stone, unmoving and unfeeling. For just before she walked over to Morjidza to take his life, Death had whispered to Allyr: "In exchange for your partner's life, I will take your home away from you."

Without Death to forge a gate for her, Allyr could not return home, to her own world.

She was stranded in a world that she did not belong in.

Okay... (-pulls out To Do list-) Bring back Kalas, check... Kill Morjidza... check... Get rid of Death... check... So this leaves, only the Epilogue...

(-sniffle-)

Anyway, one last thing before I go today, and I really need an answer because this will ultimately determine a lot of things: If I wrote a sequel(s) to Dreams of Rain, would anyone actually read it? Thanks a bunch for any answers. (Truth is, I wrote the latter half of this story with a sequel in mind. Hence the scene with the Clairvoyant in the previous chapter.)

So please, please review again.