Chapter One:
Tucked away, hidden in a forest somewhere on the outskirts of Caldia, stood a tiny small two bedroom cottage made out of wood. Its roof was shaped like an upside down letter v. The front door had a glossy shine to it, it's handle was made out of metal. The frame had a beautiful orange creeper vine growing on it which was well looked after. On each side of the door were two windows, one was the master bedroom window and the other was the kitchen window.
In front of the cottage underneath the two windows were two flower garden, one was on the left side of the door and the other was on the right: each had five red tulips in a row, accompanied by one red rose and one white rose. They were both being currently watered by a witch and a male fairy. The witch had long pink hair which was tied into two plaits, she had pink eyes and was adorned in a navy blue short sleeved dress which reached to her ankles, which had frilly spikes at the end. The sleeves too had the frilly spikes. On the chest area of her dress was a white bib. She wore a navy blue witch hat that had a tiny ball at the end of the point.
On her arms were a pair of navy blue wrist cuffs which also had the spiky fill. The wrist cuff had one section which reached down to her middle finger on each hand making it easier for her to wear. On each cuff, were two bracelet ÄRM. She had ÄRM rings on both of her middle fingers and her fourth finger. The witch was watering the tulips on the right side, while the fairy watered the ones on the left.
The male fairy had short chestnut brown hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in a pair of green trousers, a green long sleeved jacket which was buttoned up - though split on the bottom part, and green shoes which had a tiny point to the end. His wings were clear blue and flapping as he hovered anxiously around the witch. "Dorothy, when are Alviss and Belle returning?" He asked, as he finished watering the white roses. He placed the watering can on the ground near the front door and turned his attention to Dorothy.
The witch, now known as Dorothy stopped watering the tulips and looked at the fairy. "They will be back in a couple of hours, Saru" she replied as she continued on watering the tulips - she only had three left to do. "Alviss is out training with Gaira. Belle always goes with him. He did ask me if I wanted to come along, however, I have to study a map I recently found in the Hild Continent. That map is supposed to show me the way to the Cave of Babbo, which is said to contain a rare ÄRM called Babbo, and from what someone told me it would break Al's curse if we destroy it" Dorothy told him with a smile. She finished watering the tulips and took both of the watering cans inside the cottage, with Saru following her. "In two days time, on Wednesday, I'm going to start my search for Babbo. That is where you and I must part from them until we meet up again on the following Monday," she informed him as she put the watering cans on a shelf which was located next to the front door along with other gardening tools.
Saru let out a sigh and looked sad when she mentioned that they had to separate for a while. He knew what that meant and hated it. Dorothy made her way to the lounge room and looked around, spying a rolled up map that was left on the edge of a coffee table. She beamed and picked it up. "This map is what will help us, Saru. Then you and I have to search for the ÄRMs that my sister stole from Caldia. That will not be easy as thousands have been taken or given away" Dorothy said as she unrolled the map and sat down on the couch which was green and had two white cushions. She leaned back and put her left leg on her right and held the map in front of her to study it.
The map itself was a rusty colour and had bits of brown on the edge - as if it were burnt at some point. It looked frail to touch, so Dorothy had to be careful with it - surprisingly it was stronger than she thought it would be as she traced her finger to where she was located now, to where the Cave of Babbo was. "According to this, Saru. It may take us three days to get there by foot, however, one day if we fly." She got up for a moment and looked around for a pen, which she found lying on the floor next to the couch. Smiling she picked it up and started drawing a line to where she had to go. She circled the locations and put a question mark to places she hasn't been to yet to find the missing ÄRM that her sister had stolen. Saru impatiently flew around in the lounge room as Dorothy busied herself with the map.
Dorothy sat down on the couch once more with her legs crossed, and her eyes focused on the map. She bit on the end of the pen as she tried figuring things out. "If there were traps here... then how would I successfully get Babbo? Saru won't be able to help as he is a small fairy... I have to work out what kind there might be. I really doubt Babbo will be just in a cave, alone, waiting for someone to grab it, there would have to be some kind of guardian protecting it. But what power would this guardian have? Will I have to use Toto, or will my other ÄRM be fine with it? Where would the traps be located?" she asked herself, trying to imagine what the Cave of Babbo would look like.
She imagined it would be a dark and creepy cave, with bats, and traps. Whether they'd be the ones where you'd fall into a hole or rope ones where you end up finding yourself into a net. She tried to figure out what type of Guardian ÄRM there would be to protect Babbo. "Strong and muscular ones for sure," she loudly suggested. "or could they be weak and easy to defeat?" she added to her pondering. "Whatever they are, I will have to prepare myself for it. For Al's sake I must get Babbo and destroy it, then he and I can live happily together - and maybe some point, marry and have kids..." she blushed when she mentioned marrying Alviss and having a family with him.
Saru listened to Dorothy murmuring to herself and sighed. "I hate to ask, but what if breaking Babbo won't break Alviss's curse? What will you do then?" he asked, snapping the witch out of her fantasy world. She looked at Saru and sighed. "That's something we'd have to figure out after getting to the stage" Dorothy answered sounding worried, she put her hand under her chin and looked at the map once more, and back to Saru.
"What do you mean by that?" Saru blinked, looking at her in confusion. "I mean, what do you think we should do if destroying Babbo doesn't work?" Dorothy questioned him. "I'd go after the person who used Babbo and destroy him," Saru proudly replied. "that would be easy," he added with a smile. Dorothy shook her head. "No, it won't. Phantom is dead" she reminded him. "There has to be another way to destroy the curse" she bit her bottom lip and frowned. "it must be something that we're not looking at, Saru."
"Too bad a true love's first kiss doesn't work," Saru said, folding his arms, earning a glare from Dorothy. "What?! What did I say wrong?" he asked scratching his head in confusion.
"We need to be serious about this, Saru. This curse isn't a game. It's taking over Al's body and he won't have much time until it's completely covered..." Dorothy snapped. "You think about what you said. I'm going to go outside again," the witch rolled up her map and put it on the couch, she put the pen down and got up, without another word she left.
Saru watched her, kicking himself and unsure what he said wrong. "All I said was... oh..." after realizing what he had mentioned that upset her, he flew after Dorothy. "Dorothy! Dorothy!" he cried out, leaving the lounge room.
"Keh..." a young man with spiky dark blue hair smirked while holding what it appeared to be a silver pole in both of his hands. His eyes were blue and underneath his left eye were two pale pink triangles. He was dressed in a pair of navy blue trousers, a white jumper which had a zip running down the middle of his chest, on the seams of his arms and collar were a blue stripe. He wore white shoes which appeared to have two blue stripes on the sides, and metal running across the middle of it. On his right hand were four ÄRM rings, one his left-hand index finger was one more ÄRM ring. The man appeared to be panting and sweating as he held up the pole to defend himself. He was fighting against an older man with short spiky grey hair who had a moustache and bushy eyebrows. The older man was wearing a dark blue robe and sandals. The man had his arms crossed and over his face to protect it. They were not alone, there was a tiny female fairy who was sitting on a nearby tree branch, nibbling on an apple. She had light blue hair and blue eyes. Her attire was a purple bather-like suit with a pale white frill, and a white bib which was around her shoulders. The fairy had see-through blue wings which were resting for the moment while she ate. The three were near an open field - which had wooden fencing around it - and several black and white cows - who were grazing on the green grass not caring about the men who were training. The field itself had several trees growing - including one apple tree - the same tree that the tiny fairy was sitting on.
"Is that all you have, Alviss?" The older man teased, knowing that Alviss could do better. The young man, now known as Alviss kept attacking him, however, the older man continued to block, crossing his arms and holding them in front of him. "I'm just going easy on you this afternoon, Gaira" Alviss retorted revealing the older man's name, as they stopped to take a break. Gaira nodded. "Tomorrow, I'll send you to the Gates of Training" he announced. Belle flew down from the tree and sat on Alviss's right shoulder, relieved that the training had finished. Sweat rolled down from Alviss's forehead onto his cheek, he wiped it off.
"Gaira, I can't come tomorrow. Dor and I have plans to spend the entire day together before she and I separate for a few days to do our own things. We will be reuniting on the following Monday. I can come on Wednesday though - that's when she leaves" Alviss informed him, sounding concerned.
"Wait, you're breaking up with her? Did something go wrong in your relationship?" Gaira asked anxiously, misunderstanding what he meant. Alviss chuckled. "No, we're fine. Dor has to do her own things for a while, and I've got a lot of training to do with the Cross Guards, as you know. Thank you for your concern for us though."
Relieved, Gaira continued on with his conversation. "Hm, alright when you next come here, I'll send you to the gates of training - after that, you should be right to use a certain ÄRM I have - which I plan to give to you soon. There's something I've been meaning to tell you and I can't remember the life of me what it is," Gaira frowned, at himself, pausing for a moment to think. Alviss waited patiently for Gaira to find the words he was looking for, glancing around, he smiled seeing a small fairy sitting on a branch of the nearby apple tree, holding a half-eaten apple in her hands. "Belle, you can come down now, Gaira and I have finished training," he called out to her, revealing the fairy's name. Belle tossed the apple away, not realizing that a cow was nearby - the core hit the cow on the head - in the result, it mooed causing Belle to quickly fly over to Alviss in fright. She watched the cow devour the rest of the apple which had fallen on the ground near it.
"That was scary," Belle commented, hiding behind Alviss's head. Alviss laughed. "You'll be fine. I doubt the cow would have hurt you. She was more surprised about the apple core falling onto her head and to the ground. I guess you made her happy as because she is enjoying the remains of the apple" he assured her. Belle looked at the cow and sure enough, the cow was eating the apple core. Belle smiled and sat on Alviss's shoulder.
"That reminds me..." Gaira announced after Alviss had finished talking to Belle. Alviss and Belle at once looked at Gaira, eager to hear what he had to say.
"One of the Cross Guards came to me yesterday in a state of panic" Gaira began to tell Alviss, with a concerned voice. "What was his name now?" he frowned to himself as he tried remembering the Cross Guard's name. Clicking his fingers, he remembered it. "Yes, you remember, Akira, don't you?" he asked, checking with Alviss before he could add some more. "Yes, I remember Akira, he and I have trained together - he is a bit clumsy" Alviss admitted, remembering the times that Akira had fallen over or had broken something while training with Alviss in the Gates of Training. "He ended up knocking himself out once," he added, earning a laugh from Belle and a concerned look from Gaira. Alviss looked at Belle, who quickly stopped laughing. "What were they doing to act suspicious and is Akira really sure that it's the Chess and not some people just wearing ÄRM earrings?" Alviss asked, sounding worried. "You know what he's like with mistaking people for who they aren't. Remember the time he mistook an elderly male for you when we were out on a mission one day?"
"Yes, I remember that. I try not to think about it..." Gaira remembered the embarrassment that had caused him.
Akira, Alviss and Gaira were out at the markets, trying to find a mysterious ÄRM that would hold such great power. Gaira had told the two Cross Guards that he was going to get something to eat for the three of them, and while he was gone, Alviss and Akira started looking around at the ÄRM markets, trying to see if anything would catch their interest. Akira had found a store where a man that had looked a lot like Gaira had been running it. "Hey old man, I didn't know that you ran this marketplace too! Why didn't you say you were just going to go back to the store?" Akira exclaimed looking at the old man, who stared at Akira in shock, Alviss turned his attention to Akira. "Akira! That's not Gaira," he quickly informed the Cross Guard. Akira stared at the elderly man running the store and remembered what Gaira looked like. "Of course it is! I know what Gaira looks like when I see him," Akira informed Alviss proudly.
Alviss smacked his forehead. "Then you should know this gentleman is not Gaira. He's just a man running the store who happens to resemble Gaira, but is not him" he argued back with Akira. "You're just jealous because I spotted Gaira running a store! Hey Gaira, can I get a discount on this?" Akira asked, pointing to a necklace which had a Koala locket. The man frowned. "Listen here young boy, he is right, I am not this Gaira you speak off," he said with his voice full of anger.
Akira laughed. "You're really good at acting Gaira, seriously." That's when the elderly gentleman had enough of Akira, he grabbed Akira's shirt. "Now listen here you little brat, I am not this Gaira guy, I'm just an old man running a store trying to make Pewter for my elderly wife," he explained shaking Akira roughly. Alviss's eyes widened at the man's reaction, though he decided not to do anything about it - as he wanted Akira to learn from his mistakes.
"Hey you've even got the shaking part going well," Akira exclaimed, laughing as the elderly man shook him angrily. "That's it," the elderly man shouted, shoving Akira onto the ground, hard. Akira blinked in confusion. "Why did you do that, Gramps?" he asked.
Deciding to drag Akira out of the situation before things get worse, Alviss quickly grabbed hold of Akira's right shoulder and dragged him away. "Idiot! What do you think you're doing? THAT is NOT Gaira. Even Belle would've told you if she was with us" Alviss hissed. "You would have gotten yourself killed, let's go and find Gaira, next time, be more vigilant about others!" Alviss scolded Akira, adding a warning tone to his voice.
Akira simply nodded and together with Alviss and soon they were reunited with Gaira.
Alviss nodded, remembering what Akira was like. "Please continue," he told him, eager to find out more what happened at Vestry.
"Akira told me that he and the other four Cross Guards were walking around the markets of Vestry, just casually talking to other people, when they heard a woman screaming" Gaira continued. Alviss and Belle looked at him as if to say 'go on, tell us more.' "The woman was a member of the markets, selling fake ÄRM and was being attacked by ten men, who used their ÄRM against her. Akira witnessed the woman being devoured by a Guardian ÄRM, that looked like a Giant Snake. After that, he and the other Cross Guards intervened and fought against the things who had killed the woman. In the event, one of the men used a smoke bomb, and when the smoke cleared, they were no-where to be seen, nor was the store that the woman had owned it. Before they had left, Akira had noticed that the men have a Chess Piece earring - one that looked like a horse's head. That is all. I recommend you to inform Dorothy about this, as they appear to be highly dangerous people, and if you spot them - don't fight them unless you have to" Gaira warned him.
"A Giant Snake devouring someone? That sort of reminds me of Dor's Guardian ÄRM: Raindog - who she calls Toto. I gave him to her on a date once. She uses him when she believes it's necessary. Toto has the ability to devour someone, Dor tries to avoid the option if she can" Alviss told Gaira.
"Guardian ÄRM: Raindog? I've never heard of that one before. Dorothy should be fine if she uses that against them though. Anyway, give her heads up about it. Akira thinks that the Chess Pieces may be reviving and strongly believes that Phantom may end up being resurrected. If he's right, then we have the second MÄR Heaven War to worry about. We would have to transfer someone from another world to help us fight against them, like in the last war, where Danna helped us - before he died" Gaira said, sounding concerned.
"I'm going to head off now, my wife is expecting me home before dinner, and I'd better ensure that I get home before she scolds me for being late. Tell Dorothy and Saru I said hi," Gaira smiled, feeling for something in his pockets. "Report to me if you see any of the shady people that Akira had mentioned, and avoid fighting with them if you can" he added getting a ÄRM ring out of his pocket. He held it with his thumb and index finger.
"Alright, will see you on Wednesday. I'll let them know that. Tell your wife I said hi too," Alviss smiled to him. "I'll let you know if anything happens between now and Wednesday."
Belle flew up to Gaira with a smile. "Goodbye, Gramps, see you later!" she smiled, making Gaira flinch in annoyance. He hated being called Gramps, just because he was old. Alviss looked at Belle in surprise, Belle giggled.
After saying goodbye to Belle, Gaira held up the ÄRM. "Andarta, take me back home," he commanded and vanished within seconds after saying that.
"Time for us to go home too, Belle," Alviss informed the fairy. Belle nodded. "Are we walking home or are we going to use Andarta?" Belle asked. "We'll walk, it's only about half an hour away and there's something I need to get on the way there" Alviss answered. "What do you need to get?" Belle inquired, curiously, however, she received just a smile from Alviss. "Aww, you're in one of those surprising Dorothy moods again, aren't you?" Belle questioned, folding her arms. Alviss chuckled. "GAH!" he suddenly exclaimed, remembering something.
"What's wrong, Al?" Belle asked curiously, looking at him in surprise. "Gaira never told me what the he planned to give me...I was meaning to ask him too!" Alviss replied, feeling a bit annoyed with himself. "Maybe he didn't plan to tell you yet until Wednesday?" Belle suggested with a shrug. "Possible, I guess we're going to have to wait and see" Alviss left the field with Belle, making their way to the markets before he uses Andarta to take him and Belle home. It only took him 15 minutes to get there from the field.
Resting his arms on his desk, with his head buried between them, a 14-year-old boy snored as he slept. His desk was made out of wood - as was the chair. He was dressed in a navy blue trousers, a white collared T-shirt and a pair of white shoes with black underneath them and a bit of reading on top. He wore a pair of glasses which sat on his head. He was in school and supposed to be waiting for his first class. Tired from staying up and playing video games the night before, the boy had fallen asleep at his desk, snoring softly as other students in the classroom watched him, giggling and snickering. In the class room were 23 more desks exactly like his. At the front was the teachers and a blackboard with the day's date on it written in white chalk on the right hand corner. Near the teachers desk was a black paper ball waste bin which was empty - ready for the day to be filled up.
On the teacher's desk were two tins, one was a swear jar - if a student swore he or she would get their name written in it. If the student had their name more then once in the jar, they would have to do class duty - which most students hated. The duty would include dusting the chalk board erasers, emptying the bin, wiping the board, ensuring that nothing was left behind and write fifty times on the board - the writing depends on the student's behavior and the mood of the teacher. The other jar had 25 pens which the students were allowed to borrow if they returned them.
A girl with brown hair and eyes snickered as she opened the teachers draw for some paper to write on. Her attire was the same as the boy's as were most of the students though some girls chose to wear navy blue skirts. She opened the top draw of the desk and smiled seeing a pile of white paper - which had blue lines on it. The girl put the paper on the desk and quickly looked around and started writing something on it, giggling as she did. After she finished writing, she put the pen back into the jar, and looked in the draw for some sticky tape, which she had found, smiling she took a piece of sticky tape and put it on the top part of the paper, ready to stick it on something. She walked up behind the sleeping boy and gently placed it on his back, between where his shoulder blades are. Most of the boys and girls giggled when they read what it said.
"I'm so bored of life, sleeping is better!" was written on the paper, many snickered in the class. Many of the students giggled at the paper. The girl expected the boy to wake up, however, he did not. "Seriously? Gee, he must be having a good dream..." the girl complained as she joined the boys who laughed at the note she put on the boy's back.
Finding himself in a field in another world, where the grass appeared to be greener than usual, the boy delightfully ran around at full speed. He looked above at the sky and noticed strange birds flying by. Some even appeared to have five heads! The boy pinched himself to see if he was dreaming, however, he didn't feel anything. "Wow! Those birds are so... so... cool!" he exclaimed, running around to see what else he could find.
The boy soon found himself in a forest and noticed several fairies flying around, wearing colourful clothing and holding wands. "Turn back... turn back..." he heard them say. "You cannot go in here," they warned him. But that made him even more curious. He looked around the forest and saw a grey tree... Yes, a grey tree. It was the only tree that he found interesting and curious at the same time. Ignoring the fairies warning, he started climbing the grey tree, only finding out that the tree literately barked at him like a dog. Startled, Ginta fell down hard onto the ground... bringing him back to reality.
The boy's classmates watched as the sleeping boy attempt to climb the door frame and bust out laughing when he slipped and fell down hard on the ground. Only one girl didn't laugh at him. She ran to his aid in concern. "Ginta?! Are you okay?!" She asked anxiously, ignoring the ones who were still laughing.
"Aw man, I was having a strange dream..." the boy, now known as Ginta complained after finding himself on the ground, at the door's entrance. He rubbed his head.
"Yeah, you must've been dreaming about being a monkey!" the girl who had put the paper on Ginta's back retorted. The students in Ginta's laughed hard at the girl's remark except for one girl - who looked at them with annoyance. "The teacher should be here soon and you guys had better get ready before he tells you off again!" she warned them. She smiled and held out a hand to Ginta who blushed slightly and took it. She helped him up - even though he possibly could get up on his own.
"Thank you, Koyuki," Ginta beamed, revealing the girl's name. Koyuki quickly grabbed the paper from Ginta's back and threw it in the bin. She smiled then sat at her desk - with the rest of the class doing the same - just in time as their teacher walked into the room. Ginta noticed that Koyuki grabbed paper from behind his back and planned to ask her about that later, for now, class was more important.
Sitting on the swing chair with her hands behind her head, Dorothy gazed upon the almost clear blue sky. She smiled as she looked at several white fluffy clouds, remembering when she and Alviss were five years old, they would lay on the grass and imagine what the clouds would turn into. 'That one looks like a ghost,' she recalled Alviss once saying - giggling with her. Dorothy remembered saying to him that one of the clouds looked like a strange duck. She sighed as she waited impatiently for him to return home. Saru had found the witch and apologized for what might have offended her, Dorothy forgave him and now the small fairy was sitting on her shoulder. Dorothy imagined herself standing behind Alviss, wrapping her arms over his shoulders and placing her hands on his chest, kissing him softly on the cheek. She blushed at the thought. "I wish they'd hurry up," Saru complained, snapping the witch out of her daydream.
Just almost as he said that, Dorothy sensed a familiar magical power, one she knew too well and loved the person who it belonged to. "Your wish, came true," she started to say as she happily got up. "Saru, Al and Belle are back," she announced, smiling as she looked at the confused fairy. "How can you tell? They aren't even in front of us," he asked, blinking in confusion. "I can sense his magical power," Dorothy answered, racing inside the cottage to greet her lover at the front door. Saru flew after her, he had to admit, when it came to Alviss, Dorothy was really quick on her feet.
When Dorothy finally made her way to the front door, she opened it and beamed as Alviss appeared behind it with Belle sitting on his shoulder. Belle quickly flew off watching as Dorothy opened her arms and wrapped them around Alviss's shoulders, pulling him into a hug. Alviss smiled and returned her hug, putting his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him. Dorothy pressed her lips against his, Alviss returned the kiss, deepening it. Belle floated above watching in jealousy, folding her arms and scowling, not noticing that Saru had seen her reaction and sadly watched Belle. When Dorothy broke the kiss, she ran her fingers through his hair. "I missed you, Alviss" she whispered softly to him, kissing him gently on the cheek.
Alviss chuckled as he hugged her. "I missed you too, Dor." He hugged her close to him. Dorothy stopped kissing him for a moment and hugged him tightly, and rubbed her cheek against his lovingly. "Did you find it, Dor?" Alviss asked, pressing his lips against her forehead. Dorothy nodded. "Yes. I found the map and I found several places where the ÄRM could be. I strongly believe I have found the location of The Cave of Babbo," she informed him.
Alviss frowned at the mention of Babbo's name and rolled his right sleeve up with his left hand, revealing a red tattoo. "Phantom and Babbo were the ones who gave me this Zombie Tattoo... it won't be long before it takes over my entire Zombie and... " Dorothy buried her head in his chest when he mentioned it. "I know, Al... When one of us find Babbo, we will destroy it - and hopefully, when Babbo is shattered into pieces, your Tattoo will be gone" she added, as he put his arm around her. "I won't let that Tattoo take over you - if we can help it," Dorothy promised.
Belle watched the young couple and pouted, wishing she was Dorothy. 'It should be me and Alviss, not Dorothy and Alviss...' she thought jealously then flew off inside the cottage. Saru noticed Belle flew into the cottage, he followed her.
"That reminds me, I got you something, Dor," Alviss announced. "Hm? Did you? Thank you, Al!" Dorothy looked at him curiously. Alviss put his left arm around her and dug in his pocket with his right hand and felt around for something. Dorothy slipped her right arm around him, and rest her head on his shoulder. "Found it!" Alviss exclaimed as he pulled out a silver necklace ÄRM. It had a half moon and an angel sitting on it, looking peaceful, "Is that a Holy ÄRM?" Dorothy asked with her voice sounding excited.
"It is. Holy ÄRM: Serenity Moon. It restores the life of someone who had passed away - it also can be used as a Healing Angel. It can also be used to battle if we end up having a second MÄR Heaven War, and one of us dies, we can use it to restore life, so we won't have to be lonely. " Alviss explained, as he let go of Dorothy for a moment and stood behind her. He unlocked the necklace clasp and put it around her neck and attached the clasp to the first hook of the necklace. He then stood in front of her and smiled. "It looks beautiful on you, Dor." He commented.
Blushing, Dorothy hugged him again. "Al! How was Gaira today? What did you guys get up to? Any new and interesting gossip?" she let go of him and started to make her way inside the cottage, with Alviss following closely behind, reciting to her what Gaira had informed him about with the mysterious people and the ÄRM he was supposed to be getting. "But, he never ended up telling me what it was, which has left me more curious. I'll find out when I next see him. He wanted to see me tomorrow - I told him that you and I were planning to spend the day together" he finished. "Then on Wednesday, will be the day that you and I have to go separate ways"
"I wonder why he didn't mention more about the ÄRM. I have to search for Babbo and all the other ÄRM my sister stole, and you have your own things to do." Dorothy said as she made the way to the lounge room - with Alviss.
"Mmm. Don't forget we have that ability so we can keep in contact if we needed one another," Alviss reminded her, looking down at the wooden floor. "Anyway, to brighten things up a little, Gaira and I went to Lestava today and I found a quaint restaurant on my lunch break. I booked a reservation for you and I tonight. Belle and Saru are welcome to join us - the owners told us that the fairies can eat for free," he announced, changing the subject. "Anyway, let's go inside, I'm longing for a rest."
Smiling, Dorothy slipped one arm around Alviss's waist, he did the same thing to her and the two walked inside the cottage, with Saru and Belle following them.
"So, Ginta... what was your dream about?" Koyuki asked, placing her hands behind her back. "Did you dream about me?" she added, blushing at the thought. School had finished for the day and the two friends were walking home together.
Ginta shook his head. "I didn't have a dream about you. Though it's hard to explain. I had a dream that I was in another world, and I saw a five headed bird! I also met fairies and climbed up a grey tree, though fell down half way which obviously woke me up" he explained briefly to her. "I've been having dreams of that world for 95 times in a row now! Different scenarios same scenery. If I could, I would love to go there. It looks so beautiful."
"95 times? How is that possible for someone to have similar dreams for that many times?" Koyuki gasped in surprise. "You're really lucky, Ginta. Were all the scenarios good?"
Ginta looked at her. "No, some of them were terrifying" he shuddered at the ones he tried his best to forget about. "One dream was of a girl who looked exactly like you. She concealed herself in a block of ice in some kind of castle" he told her. "I woke up before I could stop her," he added.
Koyuki slightly blushed at the mention of the girl looking a bit like her. "If you do get the chance to go to this world, you will have to tell me about it. Do you think you'll dream about it tonight?" she asked innocently. Ginta simply shrugged. "I don't choose these dreams, they choose me."
Sitting on the couch snuggling up to Alviss, Dorothy placed her right hand on his chest, resting her head on his shoulders for a while, as he put him around her shoulder, his free hand was on top of hers, with their fingers interlocked. The two fairies were sitting on the table nearby, with Belle looking concerned.
"What's wrong, Belle?" Saru asked, earning the attention from Alviss and Dorothy, who looked at the small pair. "It's just... that..." Belle started to say, as she started poking her index fingers together, she blushed and looked away for a moment as she searched for the words to finish off the sentence. Saru patiently waited for the fairy to find what she was trying to say. It seemed like hours to him until she was able to say it. "I'm going to miss you when we part ways..." Belle blurted out. "I mean, we've been together for so long, and it doesn't feel right for the four of us to split up" she informed him.
'She has a point, Al,' Dorothy quietly thought to Alviss, who nodded in agreement.
"I wish we can all go together and do our things, but..." Belle started twiddling with her index fingers, making them go around one another. "It's impossible. Sadly you and I don't have the special ability like Dorothy and Alviss do - we can't communicate with our minds as much as I wish we could. When we're together, it feels like we are one big family. Al, why can't we go together? The four of us!" Belle looked at him with a sad facial expression.
"Belle... that's the way things have to be for a while. You and I will be together doing our things, while Dor and Saru have to do their errands. We'll meet up again soon but when I don't know." Alviss explained to her, Belle simply sighed sadly and nodded. "Just to make things clear Belle, Dor and I aren't breaking up we are still dating. We just have to be separated for a bit. Anyway, enough gloomy news, let's get ready for our date."
Belle smiled a bit to hear Alviss mention that he and Dorothy will be still together. Though she half wished it meant that the two were breaking up so she could be with him. 'A fairy can dream,' she thought. "I-I'm going to go and get changed" she announced and flew off, with Saru following closely behind.
"Aww, do I have to get up, Al?" Dorothy teasingly asked him. "Yes, although it would be nice if we could spend the entire night cuddling on the couch," Alviss replied. "Aww, but I was comfortable. Alright. I'll go get changed" Dorothy playfully complained to him, making him chuckle. She planted a kiss on his forehead then got up. "I'll go and get changed," she informed him and left the lounge room. Alviss watched her leave then thought about what he should wear, for their date.
On the way home, Ginta suddenly collapsed on the footpath, worrying Koyuki. "Ginta!" she exclaimed, rushing to his side. "GINTA!" she shook him gently to wake him up. "GINTA!" she repeated his name several times, unaware that he was having another dream. Concerned, Koyuki tried lifting him up, however, he was too heavy for her. Koyuki looked really concerned and anxious, she glanced around hoping to see if anyone could help her and spotted the girl who had teased him in the class - the very one who stuck the paper on his back. "Megumi!" Koyuki yelled out, revealing her name.
Megumi was about to run off, afraid of getting attacked by Koyuki for her behavior earlier that day. "Megumi, don't leave! Ginta needs help! He just collapsed and I am worried about him, I can't carry him to his home alone and I can't call an ambulance as I don't have a mobile... Can you please help me, just this once?" Koyuki pleaded with her.
Megumi bit her bottom lip and hesitated for a moment, then when she looked at Ginta, guilt overwhelmed her. 'What if it was me who caused him to collapsed?' she thought anxiously. 'Gnh, I have to make up to this! I'll never tease Ginta again if he makes a full recovery!' she thought as she walked up to Koyuki's side.
"Mhm, how should we do it? Who holds his hands and who holds his legs?" Megumi asked, causing Koyuki to chuckle. "What?!" Megumi gave her a funny look and folded her arms. "We have to be serious, he is unconscious. I can't carry him on my back as he's heavy, but perhaps maybe you can?" Koyuki looked at her.
Megumi slightly blushed at the idea of carrying Ginta on his back. "Even though I don't want to after what I did this morning, I will help out, just this once, if you can help put him on mine, I'm happy to carry him back to his house, just tell me where he lives" she informed him, immediately kneeling down getting ready to carry the sleeping teen. Noticing that the teen's backpack was missing, Koyuki looked at Megumi. "Where is your school bag?" she asked. "Oh, that? I never bring it with me" Megumi answered, watching as Koyuki made a second attempt to lift Ginta up, she managed to just carry him over to Megumi and put his arms around Megumi's shoulders. Megumi put her hands behind Ginta's back to support him and carefully got up.
Slightly jealous, Koyuki looked at Megumi and Ginta. "Thank you, for your help, Megumi. Alright, I'll take you over to Ginta's house. Did you want me to hold his hands for you so he doesn't somehow flop off while he's sleeping?" she asked, worried that he might fall on the ground all of the sudden.
Megumi laughed. "No, it's fine. Your boyfriend will be okay with me. Besides, I carry my younger siblings like this when they are sleeping so it makes no difference to me."
Koyuki blushed when Megumi thought that Ginta was her boyfriend. "He's not my boyfriend!" she quickly told her then covered her mouth.
"Don't worry, I won't tell the other guys at school," Megumi promised her. The two started walking with Ginta to his house, casually talking - though it was mostly a quiet journey. Koyuki wondered what Ginta was dreaming about, and wished she could wake him up - she couldn't help but wonder what he was dreaming about, though...
"Hehehehe! Isn't this fun, brother? Seeing all these worthless people lying down on the ground, dead in their own blood? Hehehe, I'm having an orgasm over it! I can't control my excitement of how much fun it is seeing so many dead people. That aught to teach that wrench to refuse my offer on joining our team. She now has no choice as she's badly injured. I want to destroy more lives! How dare she call me ugly!" a woman with blonde hair (shaped like a drill) appeared out of nowhere.
Ginta had witnessed her killing so many people, and felt helpless not being able to do anything as he would phase through anyone he sees. He watched as a girl with light blue hair lay injured on the ground, pretending to be dead for her people's sake. That particular girl had a star under her right eye and wore a bright blue dress with spots on it.
"Ugh, sis? You've missed one, he's right there!" the woman's brother pointed to Ginta whose eyes widened in shock and fear. The blonde haired woman grabbed a weapon to kill him, however, before it cut through his body, he heard someone say his name.
"GINTA! GINTA! GINTAAAAA!"
Ginta found himself being sucked out of this world and into his own world, once more...
"Man, what a weird yet scary dream..." Ginta muttered. "Make that 96 dreams I've had," he added, finding himself lying on his bed at home surrounded by his mother, Koyuki and a doctor. Megumi had helped Koyuki put Ginta on his bed then left to go home.
"We don't know what's wrong with him, Mrs. Toramizu. He seems healthy otherwise so we can't find the cause of his sudden sleeping spells. Maybe it's stress?" the doctor informed his worried mother. Mrs. Toramizu shook her head.
"Ginta hasn't informed me of any stress, so it can't be that. Hm, lets go outside and chat. Leave Koyuki with him" she whispered not wanting to worry her son. The doctor and Mrs. Toramizu left Ginta's room, leaving him and Koyuki alone.
"What happened in your dream, Ginta?" Koyuki asked, relieved to know that he's okay otherwise. Ginta told her every detail, Koyuki was mortified about it. "How could someone be so cruel and have an orgasm about killing innocent people?! Even if it was just a dream, it would have been pretty scary to witness" she said, covering her mouth in shock. "It was," Ginta shuddered at the thought. "How did I get home?" he asked, changing the subject.
Koyuki suddenly hugged Ginta, causing him to blush. "Megumi, the girl who picked on you, carried you home. She was equally worried about you. She texted me earlier and apologized for her actions and felt really bad about it. She couldn't stay long though. She hoped she wasn't the cause of you collapsing. Ginta returned her hug. "Thanks, Koyuki, for worrying about me. I think I collapsed because of that dream. I feel okay now - I think. I'll have to thank Megumi tomorrow when I see her."
Koyuki rested her head on Ginta's shoulder, sighing in relief. "Don't you ever worry me like that again!" she scolded him. "Haha, I can't keep that as a promise, Koyuki" Ginta told her, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Come on, let's go get you something to eat." Koyuki got up and held her hand out to Ginta, who took it. His stomach grumbled as soon as she said 'eat'.
The two left the room and made their way to the kitchen, where a worried Mrs Toramizu stood, serving out rice balls. The doctor had left. Turning around to see her son and Koyuki, Mrs. Toramizu shook her head. "What?" Ginta asked, in confusion.
"I don't know, Ginta. Something must be wrong with you, even if the doctors can't figure out why you're falling asleep a lot. Especially in class. Your teacher called me yet again and informed me that you fell asleep" Mrs Toramizu answered and let out a sigh. "I mentioned to the doctor that this happened to your father before he vanished 6 years ago... and the doctor said it must be just a family trait and left it as that. It does worry me though, Ginta, I hope you don't vanish just like Danna did."
Ginta looked down to the ground - and remembered when his father had vanished. There had been a massive police search in his entire city for Danna yet no trace of the father of one. Eventually, the police gave up the search and pretended it never happened and that Danna was Mrs. Toramizu's imagination. It had been a very stressful experience for Mrs. Toramizu - who to this day still misses her husband and has rejected dates from other men as she believes that one day the two will be together again with Ginta.
"Nat...suki..." Koyuki whispered softly, revealing Ginta's mother's name. Natsuki looked at her. "Koyuki, would you like to stay for dinner tonight? I'll call your parents and let them know that you're here. You are always welcomed at our house" she asked.
Worried that something else may happen to Ginta, Koyuki nodded. "Yes, I would love to stay. Thank you, Natsuki. Is that alright with you, Ginta?" she looked at her best friend who appeared to be eyeing the rice balls rather then paying attention to the conversation. "Huh?! What's okay with me?" Ginta asked, only hearing Koyuki's question.
Drool came from his mouth while he stared at the delicious and tasty rice balls that his mother had made. Koyuki and Natsuki giggled. "I take that as a yes, alright I'll call your parents. Help yourselves to the rice balls in the meantime I can easily make more"
Natsuki left the kitchen for a moment to make a phone call and returned watching Ginta devour several rice balls at once - wondering if he actually tasted them. She watched Koyuki who simply took her time eating the delicious food. 'Good thing I made enough for everyone,' she thought as she joined the two friends.
Humming a tune to herself, Dorothy looked through her part of a wooden wardrobe - located in hers and Alviss's bedroom. Their room was large and had a double bed which was neatly made. On the bed were four pillows - two on each side, it had a doona cover which was sky blue and had clouds printed on it. Between the pillows were two old teddy bears - which the couple had since they were children. One was a dark brown teddy and was missing an eye, while the other was lighter and an arm was missing. Both teddies appeared to be neatly dressed, one was wearing a pair of black shorts, a white collared shirt and a cute pair of shoes, while the other was wearing a grey dress and nothing on its feet.
Dorothy smiled after pulling out a purple dress, similar to the navy blue one she was currently wearing however it showed a part of her cleavage and the dress did not have a bib on it. She took out matching boots and gloves and quickly got changed happy with her decision. She walked over to their dressing table and undid the plaits in her hair, allowing her hair to be down. She looked around for her hair brush and found it, then brushed her hair. She wore her ÄRM - including the new one that Alviss had given her earlier that day.
Taking one more glance in the mirror before placing her brush down, Dorothy was satisfied with the results, she skipped out of her room and met up with Alviss in the lounge room. "Well, Al, what do you think?" she asked, placing her hand up on the door frame, and crossing her legs, doing a 'pose' for him. Alviss could've sworn he saw stars as soon as he looked at her. He looked at her from head to toe, then noticed the part of her dress showing her cleavage. "There's something missing, hang on, I'll go get it," he looked away, blushing bright red.
"Hm?" Dorothy glanced at him, watching as he left the room. He came back moments later with a white fluffy cardigan. Tilting her head cutely and looking confused, as he approached her with it. "I'm not cold," she assured him. Alviss chuckled. "I know, but I want you to cover up a bit," he hinted looking at her in the eyes - blushing bright red as he said that.
Giggling, Dorothy stole a kiss from his lips and gently took the cardigan from Alviss. "Alright, only for you, Al. but if I do feel warm, I can take it off, right?" Alviss hesitated at first, as he was concerned about the unwanted attention. "Al?" Dorothy gently nudged him. Alviss looked at her and shyly nodded. "Only if you wrap the arms of the cardigan around there..." he blushed again, looking away nervously.
"You're so cute, Al. I love you," Dorothy gently put her cardigan on. "I love you too, Dor. I'll go and get changed, and then see if Belle and Saru are ready" Alviss left the room, Dorothy sat on the couch once more and sighed happily.
Belle dug through her tiny wardrobe which was full of dresses and flung several out, each hitting Saru without her realizing that he was behind her. "No, no, no! None of those dresses will impress Alviss..." she pouted, digging even further to find the perfect one. Poor Saru kept getting hit by them. "B-" Saru started to say. THWAK! Another hit him in the face.
"B-" he continued to try and say her name. However, Belle was too concerned about her attire for the night to hear Saru. "GAH! All these dresses are ugly! It's not fair. I bet Dorothy would have a better one to impress him with... That makes me more determined to find a better dress... but I don't have anymore other then this one..." she pulled out a pink dress which had a frilly skirt and a bow on the back of it. "What do you think of this one, Saru? Would this make Alviss pay attention to me?" the fairy asked eagerly, looking around for the male fairy oblivious to the fact that he was buried under all her clothes.
"MMMFPH!" a muffled voice was heard not too far from where Belle was floating. Concerned, Belle hugged her dress. "Saru?" she questioned, raising an eye brow. "MmmPH!"
"EEK! That noise is scaring me! SARU! Where are you?!" Belle panicked, not realizing the noise was actually Saru trying to call for help - being buried under the clothes made it harder for him to talk. "MMMPH! MMMMMFPH! MMMMMFPH!"
Freaked out, Belle flew out of her room, dropping her dress in fear. Her face was pale from fright. "Alviss! Dorothy! There's a weird noise coming from my room!" she called out, sounding terrified.
'Unbelievable! I'm just trying to call for help, Belle! You buried me under your dresses and I can't take them off me, there must be hundreds of them on me...' Saru thought, as he tried his best to move so he could free himself.
To be continued...