A/N: Okay I really don't know what I must've been sniffing when I wrote this. Oh wait; I did. Ayumi Hamasaki's Dearest and Hikari by Utada Hikaru. I wonder why that made me write this. Must be the meaning of the words seeping into my head somehow. Anyways, this ended up being pretty much one of the coolest skills I've ever given any character I made. Sorry if all the characters seem a tad Sue-ish/Stu-ish. Enjoy it for the story and not for the realism of it all, is all I can say.
On another note, I've read through the chapters where I left off and I really feel like starting again. Of course, that'll have to wait till my exams are over and I have time to write this in between my Pokemon fanfic...
Like it really matters to you and all. Well, be prepared for more strange fluffiness; and I do not own MapleStory in any way.
My Chapter – Empathy –
What is this place?
"A ship. And I guess this is its cargo area."
She still had her hand around his arm; he didn't even have to use mindspeech for her to sense his thoughts. Unfortunately that also meant he had to face a constant buzzing against his mind, almost like little insects; the turmoil of thoughts and emotions she hadn't yet learnt to control.
I'll have to teach her someday.
"Teach me what?"
He smiled; unlike her, he knew how to mask his thoughts. He remembered the power of the monstrosity they had encountered in the forest. Its mind reeked of deceit, the power of falsehood and evil. It would take more than he himself could muster to defeat it.
You have more to learn than even I know.
And that, at least, was true.
"Strange..."
He looked at the door in front of them. She was right. It definitely was strange.
Was it like this when you came in?
She shook her head, a definite no.
Let me in.
He reached into her mind, feeling her initial resistance melt away. Gently he scanned through her recent memories, ignoring anything that was at all personal.
Images flashed across his mind; her memories.
A ship.
A door.
A lever.
Gears turning, cogs grinding... Gently he withdrew from her mind.
I think I know what you did. Open the door, but don't step out.
It was easier said than done. Strangely, it seemed as though the door had turned itself sideways; now it hung on a hinge placed horizontally against the ceiling. The rhythmic rocking of the floor didn't help much.
The rocking... I should have known before.
But it was slight, at best. He felt a tugging at his arm. A flash of bewilderment spread across his features.
What?
"I'm not going without you."
He smiled again, but then allowed himself to be dragged along with her. As she opened the door, he held on to the wall, bracing himself for what came next.
"Whaaa-!"
Now that their link had gone one step further, he tapped into her mind again, this time registering what she saw.
Just as I expected.
The world outside the door fell hundreds of feet down; he could see the treetops of the forest rushing past under them. She had called it... Ellinia? The name sounded strangely familiar; like a friend he couldn't quite remember.
Quickly he pulled her from the edge, against him. As they collapsed to the floor, she looked around at him, confused.
"What was that for?"
He shrugged helplessly. It had seemed a good thing to do at the time.
I was afraid you would've fallen over.
She tilted her head to a side, giving him another of those appraising looks. Then, she looked at him straight in the eye and winked.
"You've got nothing to worry about. I'm way more surefooted than you think."
He remembered, of course. She had leapt through the trees with as much elegance as though she had been born there. He got up, closed the door and sat back down beside her. That was a question he realized he had never asked her.
I wanted to ask... did you live in that forest before?
She tilted her head quizzically. It seemed to be a sort of trademark with her.
"Why d'ya ask?"
Now that she had mentioned it, he didn't exactly know why. He shrugged.
I guess... if we're going to be traveling partners and all... we might as well know as much about each other as we can...
She sighed and brushed her hair out of her eyes. Looking away from him, she began to speak.
"I was born in the mountains of Perion. Do you know where it is? Actually, it isn't very far away from Ellinia... here at all. I lived till the age of nine with my parents... until they...
"Dawnbreakers - The creature you saw just now was one of them - never attacked too regularly. My guessing is they just wanted to harry us; make sure we couldn't fight back, but... they took them. It was quick. A single claw and they were down."
Here she stopped; her breathing was uneven, and he could tell she was trying very hard to compose herself. When she opened her mouth to speak again, he gently placed a finger on her lips.
Enough.
Gently he placed his hands on her face and touched his forehead to hers. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the link which bound them. Gently he reached into her; a process not unlike the first. He searched her memories, gathering the pain and sorrow he knew she felt...
Visions clouded his mind; the pain was so intense, yet so strangely familiar, close to himself. He felt it resonate in his heart, felt it flood into his very being. He could feel her tears now, feel them trickle down his hands...
"You..."
It was the voice again.
He stood in a pool of water, waist-deep. Only now he saw the water was made of her tears; dripping gently down from her heart. The water turned red as each tear fell; a drop of purest sorrow; of blood. But as it stilled it turned to pure water again.
"You..."
The voice came from the center of the pool. He waded slowly towards it, fearful of stirring the water lest the peace be disturbed. As he approached, a bright ball of light surfaced, its very presence calming him, soothing him.
Its physical manifestation...
"You... you are the one they call Empath."
Me?
The ball of light twinkled in response.
Who are they? What is an Empath...? Where am I?
"Don't you know yet?"
He looked around, watching the drops of bloodwater fall at a steady rhythm, watching the tears of sorrow fall...
At the same time, he realized his own heart beat at that same, unchanging rhythm.
I'm in her soul...
"You are the Empath; the one who can free this girl from her suffering."
How?
"Only you know. You are the Empath... and I am just..."
The voice began to fade away, and with it, the ball of light.
Wait! Who are you?
The ball flickered briefly for a moment.
"I am everything she never was, and I am everything she will be."
And then it was gone.
He closed his eyes, listening to the steady beating of his own heart. The droplets of water around him echoed it, each drop falling with the intensity of a thousand frost needles. He reached into himself, and from himself he reached into her.
If I am truly who they say I am, then grant me my power.
"And who are you to demand this of me?"
The voice startled him, but it was unmistakably himself.
I am whoever I choose to be; whatever the fates choose for me; and whenever the sands of time find me.
The voice seemed satisfied.
"And for what purpose?"
There were so many.
For the power to help others.
For myself.
For Yue.
For...
For love.
And as he said it, he realized it was true. He felt the voice shudder as though it had finally realized something it had always wanted to.
"For the true power of an Empath... is one of his emotions.
"Take this power, and use it in the name of love."
He felt... (himself?) fade away as the other voice had before.
But now he had it.
He watched the tears falling around him, their sorrow all too real. He let his hands run through the water of her emotions. As they did, the water turned first red, then gold. Closing his eyes, he reached through the mist, absorbing the feelings of sorrow; of hate and anger. He felt his mind almost implode under the strain of emotions. Almost a decade worth of emotions concentrated into a single instant.
As he took the pain upon himself, he felt the tears begin to fall slower; now three of his heartbeats passed to a single tear.
But it wasn't over.
He reached into her memories, visiting an area he previously had never touched. Her memories of joy, of happiness and of love. Her childhood before her parents had died, her life under her Guardian, playing with her friends in the caves of Perion...
And her time with him.
His hands moved, but he watched them as though in a waking dream. He wasn't moving his hands himself anymore; he seemed to be doing everything by instinct, as though he had been doing it all his life.
My emotions... guide me...
He watched as her memories were weaved into a golden web of light, as the light spread over the sea of her own emotions...
He opened his eyes to her face in front of his. His fingers were wet with her tears, but as she looked up at him, she still managed to smile.
She hadn't felt so clearheaded for so long. Her burden of vengeance seemed to be fully lifted for the first time.
"Don't hurt anymore."
"Wh... what did you do?"
He moved to remove his hands from her face, but, blinking back tears, she held them to her.
I don't want to lose this feeling.
Wearily he smiled at her. She realized for the first time how tired he looked.
"How...?"
Gently he pushed her hands away and leant back against the opposite wall.
"Don't worry... you won't feel the pain anymore... after all, if it returns..."
I'll be there.
The promise they'd made to each other. The link which bound them. She knew, inexplicably, that he'd be there for her.
And I'll be there for him.
She watched him as he sat, slumped against the wall. He looked as though he had gone through the world's troubles and only just survived.
Then again, he probably had.
Though the sorrow was gone from her heart, still she felt guilt and helplessness, but now only because she was unable to do anything for him, who had done so much for him.
"You gave me yourself... as a friend."
She started. Had he been listening? But his eyes were closed...
"And that's more than anyone could ever have given me."
She sat and watched him in silence. He could remove the sadness from her heart, give her hope and joy...
But he would never be able to escape himself.
Lost in thought, she didn't notice when he finally opened his eyes.
"So... what are we going to do about this ship?"
A/N: Don't you love the fluffy bunnies. Don't shoot them!
Whatever it is, I'm not sure whether the transition is entirely natural, but hey; this is me from many months ago. Go figure.
