Seriously, no excuses other than writer's block. I'M NOT DEAD! :P As for those of you who may be a bit confused, the last chapter started with Jamie fainting on the night of the 5th. He wakes up in his bed in the afternoon on the 6th, and sleeps through the 7th due to exhaustion. Didn't specify it, oops. By the way, this chapter will now be introducing a bit more of the actual Saving the Goddess aspect of the plot.

EDIT: Chapter was removed and then reposted to fix a confusing error on my part. The below line previously read "Spring 8th"- which bothered the hell outta me.

Sorry for the false alarm of a new chapter, though I'm working on it as you read this now! :)

Summer 8th

Somewhere in that lazy, warm blackness that was sleep, Jamie heard a voice calling out to him. It was such a clear, beautiful sound, and yet the voice sounded as though it was buried, muffled from breaking free by some unknown force. The voice bounced off of the walls of his skull, echoing in his mind, and try as he might Jamie could only make out the faint call of:

"…my voice… Hasten… I have...sent her...save me…"

That voice, he knew that voice! It was burdened with weakness and mourning, but he knew that voice! 'Harvest Goddess!' rang the alarms in his brain.

Before he could think to reach out—however one did that in dreams—the voice faded away and Jamie was slammed back into reality. He jolted upright in bed, covered in a cold sweat. Gripping the sheets in white knuckles, he swallowed the lump already formed in his throat. She'd called out to him. How long had it been since she'd done that? It must have been a year ago or so, when she had first been encased in that unfeeling, cold prison. He remembered how her voice used to sound, the way you could just feel her spirit when she spoke. Hearing it in dreams, it still held that beauty, yet it had become broken and tragic. She was tired, he knew it, and the fact that he couldn't stop it was killing him.

But the message she had given him… Why couldn't he hear all of it? The first few times she'd called to him, he could hear her voice much better. Taking a moment to close his eyes, he concentrated on remembering every word she said. Four simple words stood out among the rest. "I have sent her," she said. He'd never heard anything like that before from her, and he was quite sure he knew why. Jamie flung his hands into his hair, tugging at his violet roots in frustration. 'Damn it, I knew it! I've been slipping. I haven't been good enough. She's testing me…' Well, he never did expect saving the local deity to be an easy task. 'I will not lose to you,' he vowed silently for the dozenth time in the last two seasons, yet somehow feeling like he meant it a little more this time.

'Speaking of which…' he thought to himself, 'I can't afford to lie around here.' Sliding his legs from under the white sheets and sterile white cover, he—

'Wait, white covers? I thought I had a purple quilt.' Cursing himself for letting his awareness slip, he scanned his surroundings with a calculating gaze. Immediately, he took in tile floors, beige walls, medical equipment everywhere, and the smell of bitter medicine in the air. Ah, he had to be in the clinic. 'But how..?' Just as he was about to hunt Alex down and ask, with no amount of politeness, why in the seven hells he saw fit to enter his home without permission, said doctor slid back the white curtain on the left side of the bed. Not expecting to see his psuedo-friend already awake, and seething nonetheless, he jumped, barely holding back a loud gasp. "Goodness Jamie, you scared me half to death! How are you feeling? Better, I hope?" he inquired, chuckling at the end.

Jamie kept his frown in place, ignoring the doctor's cheery attitude. "I'm feeling like I wanna know why the heck I'm in this dump! Last time I checked, you didn't have permission to just break into my house and drag me over here, especially when I don't even need any medical attention. Just who do you think you are? Explain, now!"

Alex sighed, deciding to drop all attempts at professionalism. It didn't really matter anyway, in a small town like this. Plus, having civil, adult conversation with Jamie wasn't exactly easy. Ignoring his typical, prickly disposition, the doctor set his chart down on the stool next to Jamie, who was by now wrestling his large poncho back on.

"You're always in such a rush! I realize farm work must be hard, but really now…" he sighed.

Jamie's head snapped back up, fixing Alex with a glare. "Don't try to change the subject! I'm not like your patients; I won't be fooled." The doctor suppressed the urge to sigh again. Leave it to Jamie to make a comment that was half-way between "We're good enough friends that I can understand you better than most people," and "Are you calling me an idiot?!" with no way for you to tell which part of it was how he really felt. Chances were it was both, on some level.

"I wasn't avoiding the question, I was only making a comment. That aside, it's simple. You may not be very social, Jamie, but it's obvious that you have a daily schedule. Tina and the people at Blue Ranch had all noticed you didn't leave your house on the sixth, so that night Tina went to go check on you."

Jamie could have sworn his heart stopped before being overcome by a sickening mix of rage and sheer dread. 'In my house?! How dare she intrude on my private property like that!' Just as the irate rancher opened his mouth, ready to unleash the hounds of hades, Alex stopped him short.

"She didn't go inside, so please don't have an aneurysm. We don't have the facilities to treat that here," he smirked.

Jamie's eye twitched. "Was that a joke?" he ground out in a deadly tone. Ignoring him, Alex plunged on with his story. If he stopped to answer everything Jamie said, they'd be there all day.

"When she rang the doorbell and you didn't answer, she got a little worried, so she went around asking if anyone knew where you were. When Ellen and Blue said they were wondering the same thing, they gave me a call. I told them not to worry, and that I'd check it out. Ellen and Blue seemed happy enough with it and didn't ask anymore, but Tina insisted on staying at the clinic with Martha while I checked up on you."

Next to him, Jamie began muttering something about meddlesome, annoying rivals, but the light blush on his cheeks spoke volumes to Alex. The curious doctor took a mental picture and filed it away for future reference.

"When I saw you sleeping, I didn't really know what to think. But when I took a closer look at you, I could tell you were a complete mess. I tried waking you, but you were out cold. It was apparent that you were exhausted, so I took you back to the clinic to fix you up. That's about it."

Jamie huffed. "Well if that's the case, how did you get in? There's no way you could've found the spare key! I—"

"Oh for Goddess' sake, Jamie, everyone hides theirs on top the doorframe!" he cried, exasperated.

Jamie scowled. "Humph! Well what about my animals? If you wanted to do something good for me, you could've woken me up yesterday morning and I wouldn't have missed so much work!" He stood abruptly and all but bolted for the door when Alex's arm grabbed his poncho and snagged him back down onto the bed.

"Argh, let me go, idiot! My animals are probably starving and my crops are gonna die!" he hissed.

"No, listen, it's fine! I was about to tell you, if you'd be patient. Your crops and animals have been taken care of these past two days, so there's nothing to worry about."

He cocked an eyebrow, disbelieving anyone would be willing to do him a favor, whether he was sick or not. Sure, the people in Flower Bud were nice (revoltingly so, if you asked him) but the only person who would jump at the opportunity to take on the load of his work would be…

He paled, turning to the doctor and gripping his green shirt in a bunched fist. "Alex, so help me, you had better not be saying what I think you're saying! You don't mean you seriously entrusted my farm to that—that—… pigtailed nightmare!"

The doctor sputtered, failing terribly at hiding back a laugh. Seeing Jamie get so worked up like this; it was certainly a rarity! 'Yet another thing to file away for future reference,' he mused, only half-listening to Jamie's growl of "Stop grinning at me like that! Damn it, you'd better answer me, Alex! What did she do?!" It seemed the younger man had finally gotten his strength and color back, as well. Maybe letting him go tend to his farm would be best. Jamie could take care of himself. …Well, usually.

The doctor rose from the bed, Jamie following anxiously on his heels. As he neared the door, he guiltily told himself that stringing Jamie on in such a fashion was probably pushing it, and cleared his throat.

"No, not Tina. She'd wanted to, actually, but Blue and Ellen had already finished the chores on the 6th, and she couldn't make it on the 7th because of the Star Festival. You're in the clear, haha!" he'd rambled, checking off a few final touches on a medical form for Jamie's visit. Jamie took the chart passed to him, signing his name in a neat, elegant signature.

"So, Pigtails had someone to go to the Star Festival with? Hah! Wonder who she roped into that," he snarked. Alex looked up from the file cabinet he was placing the form in, brow raised.

"Oh, I didn't mention before? She went with me. I was surprised that she didn't have anyone else to go with, actually."

Had Jamie been drinking something, he would have spat it out, but he guessed choking on his spit was a close second. Unknown to Alex, who obliviously rummaged about his desk in the background, Jamie had to take a moment to collect his bearings before he could speak coherently again. 'He's gotta be kidding! What the hell happened while I was out?!'

"Alex, are you insane?! Why in the world would you wanna hang around that bonehead?!" he gawked.

Alex rolled his eyes. "Really Jamie, you may not like her, but she's a wonderful girl!"

"Sure," he replied sarcastically, "Not to mention annoying, incompetent, loud, obnoxious… Besides, you both have jobs to do! Don't waste your time on dumb things like the Star Festival."

The two walked out of the clinic door and into the summer sun, the air around them pulsating ever so slightly with humidity and sunshine. Thankfully, it was accompanied by a hefty breeze.

"Come on, give it a rest. Tina and I had a really nice time last night."

"Still, her? There are other girls in town, you know!" he said bitterly, arms crossed.

Alex cocked an eyebrow. 'Is he…? No, it couldn't be! Could it?'

"Jamie, you're not… No, what am I saying? Nevermind."

Jamie bit the inside of his cheek. If there was one thing Jamie couldn't stand, it was being left behind and left out. He marched over to Alex and planted his feet firmly in front of the doctor. This whole ordeal that started with him passing out was testing his last nerves, and Alex wasn't making it any better.

"What?!" he barked. "You know I hate that! If you're gonna say something, then say it!"

The doctor put his hands up, trying to diffuse the situation. It was way too easy to step on Jamie's toes…

"It's nothing really, just… Well honestly Jamie, don't you think you're acting a bit… jealous?"

Every muscle in Jamie's body went rigid as he struggled to contain his temper. He dug his nails into his palms, trying to do anything to distract him from his steadily increasing blood pressure and urge to scream at the top of his lungs while he throttled the man in front of him to death. 'He's not what I'd consider a friend… Well, maybe... I guess I should try to control my anger a little. He's probably the only one in this damn village who can even tolerate me, besides—' Shaking with fury, the blood in his veins turned to lava.

'Besides… her!'

So much for keeping cool.

"You stupid, stupid, STUPID idiot! WHY THE HELL—I'M NOT—I DON'T EVEN—No! Just NO! Jealous?! Are you kidding me?! Get a freakin' grip!" He thundered, this time grabbing the doctor's coat with both hands and giving him a good, hard shake.

"W-woah! Jamie, calm down! I take it back, okay?!" he cried, voice trembling.

"Save it! Ugh!" He thrust the doctor into the dirt and spun around, too disgusted to even look at Alex. 'And here I thought he was different from everyone else!' He thought with resentment.

Without looking back, he began the short walk back to his farm. 'Away from Alex, away from these judgmental fools who do nothing but jump to conclusions! I won't stand for it! Even if it means being alone… It's better in the end that way anyway. I was wrong to think he could be an exception.'

"For your information, I don't care what you two get into with each other! You wanna date her, go ahead. I couldn't care less."

Brushing the dust from his coat, he stumbled to his feet to chase after the stubborn rancher, already knowing he would regret this for a long time to come. "Wait a second! I—" Now at his front steps, Jamie paused one final time.

"I don't care!" He shouted, slamming the door to his house.

Alex slapped his palm to his forehead and grimaced. 'I knew I shouldn't have wished for my life to get more interesting… I guess those bamboo floats really do work!'

In the distance, a young boy dressed in light blue with a hard hat and goggles too large for his head peeked out from behind a wide fir tree, giggling impishly. "Woah… He beat the mess outta him!" Still grinning, Tim excitedly dashed back towards the Blue Sky Ranch in hopes of finding his older brother. 'This is the best vacation ever! Maybe Grandpa and me really should move here…'

Like many small towns, Flower Bud had one weakness as a community: gossip. Within the course of the next day, Tim eagerly told the story of the apparent smack-down to anyone who would listen. Bob, not really the type to spread rumors, didn't think much of it. Kids exaggerated things all the time, right? So when he'd retold the story with a chuckle or two to Joe, who had only been half-listening, Bob honestly didn't expect it to get so out of hand. By the end of the tale, Joe had only been able to gather something about a huge fight between Alex and Jamie. He'd repeated it a while later at the Calloway Café to Katie, who had petulantly complained about Flower Bud being a boring town. Latching on to the juicy gossip, Katie retold it to her circle of friends that night over dinner—with a few embellishments of course, to make it more dramatic. Nothing much, just a few tweaks; a ripped sleeve here, a black eye there… The only thing the other girls had trouble believing was that Jamie, of all people, had fallen for Tina first! Maria kept quietly cutting in, saying perhaps that wasn't the case, but what did she know?

Summer 10th

It was hard for Jamie not to notice the abundance of eyes on him everywhere he went that morning. On his way to Blue Sky Ranch to pick up chicken fodder (where he begrudgingly offered thanks to Blue and Ellen for looking after his ranch for him, yet still with a not-so-subtle input that no one had forced them to do it, and just what were they getting at anyways) was when it first began. Then through town to go towards the beach, and then again on his way to the Moonlight Cave, furtive glances poked into his back as he strolled by. It was like some sort of shameful parade, though he didn't know what the reasoning for it was—not yet, at least. He hadn't been the subject of this much attention since he'd first moved in a few years ago. And the staring wasn't even the worst part, for the startling development of unmistakable whispering turned what was a minor annoyance but still ignorable into a phantom thorn, constantly jabbing his already bruised ego. By the time he made it to the mine, he had to refrain himself from running into the comforting arms of quiet and darkness that most of the villagers dared not enter.

He heaved a small sigh. Solitude was most certainly the only peace he would be able to find in this life.

"Jamie, you've got some 'splainin' to do!" came an echoic shriek.

And just like that, the serene atmosphere was mercilessly shattered. 'Kill me now. Just kill me now, Goddess, please,' he begged. He turned to face, predictably, his pouting rival.

"Do you make it a point to bother me at every opportune moment, or is my luck just that bad?" he growled.

The brunette slapped a hand into the air, palm to Jamie's face, and huffed. "Okay, whatever! Let's save it and get to the point. You, mister, owe me an apology!"

"Oh really?" he drawled.

"Yes, really! I don't even know where to start. Not only did you put me through a ton of embarrassment today while everyone snickered behind my back, you beat up Alex! If you think you can cross him without answering to me, you've got another thing coming!" she declared.

Jamie's hands slid to his waist. "You've gotta be outta your mind! How is it my fault if people want to talk about someone as weird as you? And just what do you mean by "you've got another thing coming"? Is that supposed to scare me or something? Please, you're about as intimidating as a Chihuahua. Get over yourself." Confident that he'd put the irritating girl back in her place, he turned towards the staircase.

Of course, Tina couldn't be satisfied unless she had the last word. Still not willing to let him leave until she released the full extent of her frustrations, she charged ahead and blocked his path. Who did he think he was, running away from her like that?!

"Oh no you don't!" She skidded to a halt in the dirt, arms spread dramatically. Jamie was practically hissing, but a small and possibly masochistic side of himself was wondering what she had to say. Who knew it was so easy to be driven to insanity by one person?

"Regardless of me being able to kick your butt—which I totally could, by the way—that still doesn't mean you can go around whaling on people just because you're jealous!" she argued.

There was that cursed word again; jealous. Why did everyone think he was jealous? For Goddess' sake, it was Tina in question here! Immature, motor-mouthed, overall unattractive Tina who seemed to lack a brain between her ears. Apparently, rivalry meant nothing to the people of Flower Bud, if being jealous was a possibility in their view. It baffled and angered him. After all, many wise men often said that all life is struggle. Therefore, the will to fight against obstacles and prevail was key in succeeding in life, and a battle couldn't be fought against nothing. Humans were constantly at odds with different things; their inner demons, and sometimes what felt like fate itself. But since the dawn of time, humans struggled against one another, and these struggles were what made the world's history. From the early days in school to the ruthless world of adulthood, humans were constantly at odds with one another. This struggle, this competition, was rivalry in its purest form. Why did so many people not get this when they lived by such a mentality? Obviously the only path to leading a truly great life was to overcome the struggle against other humans. To face every rivalry head on and succeed. Certainly, the person destined to resurrect the Goddess could do no less, and Jamie would be that person.

But of course, when one is angered, such philosophical and witty responses don't exactly stick in the forefront of one's mind. An accusation of being afflicted by an emotion as childish and petty as jealousy, especially for the second time in one day (not counting the unspoken ones from gossiping villagers) only fanned the flames of the rancher's ire. And, as always, Tina really did bring out the worst in him.

His expression soured even more. "For the last time, I am not jealous! I swear, what is it with the people in this village?!" He vented. "As for beating that idiot doctor up, that rumor is untrue. I may have shaken him around a little, but only because he started spouting the same nonsense you did! All I did was ask why he not only wasted his time on what is possibly the most useless festival ever created, but had the stupidity to drag you along with him! Beating him up—now that's what I should have done."

She stood silently, surveying Jamie with a guarded expression. 'He sure does talk a lot once you get him going,' she pondered. But still, it was a strange set of events. If the altercation between the two of them was relatively mild, how did everything get so out of hand? Though her questions weren't spoken aloud, Jamie answered them without prompt as he continued his long-winded oration.

"The people in this town are so desperate for something interesting to happen that they just start making mountains out of molehills. Don't go thinking that I care who you hang around with or anything!"

Tina couldn't help but balk. Was Jamie actually making a romantic inference about their relationship? Of course, maybe most people would have done that naturally, but why would Jamie entertain such a notion? They'd both enthusiastically latched on to the idea of a mutual hatred, and neither saw anything desirable, in any way, in the other person. Tina certainly believed he was jealous, but not because he had any feelings for her. Despite Jamie's constant jabs, she wasn't that dense. To put it simply, Tina was only concerned that Jamie felt he was losing one of his only friends to her. After all, rivals competed for everything, right? Something as important as friendship had to be fair game. And though she'd never ever tell anyone, especially not Jamie or Alex, Tina had things a little further than friendship in mind for the doctor. But of course, the best kind of romance was one evolved from a friendship! And the more time Alex would spend with her, the less he'd spend with Jamie, right?

She was still outraged that Jamie had the nerve to so much as touch her prince in anger, but a miscommunication wouldn't help matters any. "Actually that's not what I really meant," she sighed, exasperated at the entire mess the last few days had become. "I just thought maybe you thought I'd be taking Alex away from you."

"Wh- what?!" He shouted, now even more offended. Was nothing ever simple with him? What was he so mad about now?

"I'm completely straight, you idiot!" He ground out, becoming more spiteful by the second.

That could be it. It wasn't the direction she was hoping to go in, but she'd take it. The novice rancher decided she'd had just about enough of Jamie's attitude by now.

"Coulda' fooled me," she muttered, just loud enough for him to hear as she turned her head to hide the impish grin that was probably spanning to both ears by now.

Jamie's face deepened about three shades to a most unsightly tomato-ish hue, and after a few suspenseful moments of silence, eloquently shouted, "WHAT WAS THAT?!"

She turned back and shot him an innocently clueless look. "Why, what ever could you mean? I didn't say anything." Who knew it could be so fun to get on Jamie's nerve like this?!

He huffed, "Yes, you did, I heard you say it!"

"And goodness Jamie, you shouldn't be so intolerant. Everybody—"

"Don't try and change the subject!" He snapped. He peered through the dark cave at the clueless, infuriating girl before him, trying to think of something to say that would make an impact, but nothing would come. Even before he spoke, he knew that if he let his mouth run like he always did then nothing new would happen. It was a tiresome pattern, one that he didn't have the time or patience for. "..Nevermind. Talking to you is like talking to a wall. That stupid rumor will blow over in a few days anyway, so just stay out of my way until then, got it?"

He pivoted, the heels of his boots scraping through the soft grey dust beneath his feet. With a devious gleam in her eyes, Tina brought a fist to her chin. 'Changing the subject, huh? Who's the one walking away from the other?'

"Nah, I think I'll just stay out of your way for good," she stated simply. The bait had been laid out, now she just needed him to take it. Letting him walk away believing he held some sort of power over her was unacceptable. She counted internally: three…two…one.

During those moments where Tina plotted to herself, Jamie plowed forward towards the inner mine with no plans of stopping. Even when her last words bounced around the walls of the cave, a voice in his head still urged him to ignore her and move on. Yet something, some ungodly force, be it a strange magic or perhaps his own masochistic tendencies he'd seemed to be cultivating lately, stopped his feet mid-step. As though the soles of his boots were encased in lead, they anchored themselves to the dirt, refusing to move. 'Out of your way for good,' she had said. What was that even supposed to mean? Why would he even care? He couldn't. He shouldn't. But he did. If there was one thing Jamie and Tina had in common, it was stubbornness. Slowly, with every fiber of his being screaming in protest, he turned back to face his rival once more.

Familiar enough with his personality to no longer need a signal, she continued. "Hey, let's face it. This whole rivalry stuff is just… Well, to be honest, it's boring. And it causes a lot more problems than it's worth. Jamie, what I'm saying is, I think we should go our separate ways."

The suspenseful silence that followed was harrowingly dramatic, like the feeling a person gets before the rollercoaster goes screaming down that first, long drop. He was almost frozen, from the time she had finished her last sentence, both arms dangling lazily at his sides. Was he even aware that his mouth was just the slightest bit hanging open?

In truth, Jamie was not aware of anything around him. Too many thoughts were racing through his head. She was backing out, then? If she was giving up, did that mean he won? He was supposed to be ecstatic. If she was forfeiting, then surely that meant he'd passed the Goddess' test. Finally, she would be free!

So why did it feel so wrong? Why did it feel like he hadn't won anything at all, like nothing would really even happen? No, it was worse than that. It felt like… Like he was losing something. He began to feel an awful, sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, like the world was inside of him but something was sucking it all out. But what could that mean? What exactly was he losing?

And why did he feel like he would lose whatever this was forever unless she alone was the one to rival against him?

His mouth popped open more, a faint noise that was a mix between a gasp and a grunt filtering into the stale cave air and dying in it. She had to be out of her mind to let things drop like this! Insults and accusations began to bubble up to the top of his throat—idiot, weakling, coward—and though for once he wasn't speechless in front of her, she silenced him anyway with her own voice.

Laughter and mirth filled the stale den, and for a split second Jamie swore it wasn't quite as dark or depressing as usual in Moonlight Cave, but maybe that was just the rank air getting to him. Between howls and the occasional snort, Tina gasped out from her position doubled over, holding her sides together.

"Ahahahaha! You- you—Oh man, you really are so easy to mess with! I think I get wha—Ahahaha! What Joe… was talking about…"

With her snickering and making a fool out of herself, it was as though she'd walked into his brain and thrown all of those terrible sensations and bafflingly terrifying questions straight out of his ear? The release of so much impending chaos was almost as jarring as the mysterious sickness itself.

Girlish, spirited giggles rang even still throughout the cave, though not as wild as they were before. She breezed towards him, her eyes holding a faint shimmer of amusement. She stopped at his side, and delivered a joking swat to his shoulder.

"Seriously Jamie, you need to learn to lighten up a little! Although, that look on your face—it was priceless. Just priceless!" With one last chuckle, she tucked her hands into her pockets and casually strolled out into what was now cool evening air.

"You really are insane, you know that?!" he shouted after her.

She waved a hand dismissively over her shoulder. "Bye, Jamie, I'll miss you too!"

"Who says I'd miss you, freak?!" He barked back almost instinctively. She's long gone by now, and he reasons she's most likely gone back to her pathetic ranch with her pathetic crops and that pathetic little dog of hers. "Humph. Sickening…" he mutters to himself.

'…What am I doing here again?' He glanced at his clock, the silver hands glinting in the dim light and pointing slightly past six, and remembered. Of course, what is there to do in a mine other than mine? Maybe he'd be able to think coherently to himself for once if it wasn't for that aggravation of a human being he called his rival constantly pestering him. He turned back toward the mouth of the cave, giving a withering glance to the retreating figure in his recent memory.

'Idiot.'

WHY GOD WHY DID THAT TAKE SO LONG WHYYYYYYYY

In case anyone was wondering, there is an age difference between Jamie and Alex. Jamie is 23, and Alex is 28. Just because I feel like Alex would be the oldest bachelor, and it would explain part of the relationship Alex has with other characters.