A/N: Hey guys! It didn't come out as fast as I wanted, but hey, it's up now. Just wanna give another big round of THANKS to my reviewers and readers. You guys are the best. I also want to wish everyone Happy Late Holidays! Sorry I didn't get this up before then. Well, I think that's all I wanna say so I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned Kaleido Star, I would make another season...with even more Layla/Sora subtext than the Legend of Phoenix OVA...

The first thing Sora noticed when she opened her eyes was the darkness; the darkness that surrounded her, that she felt eating away at her senses, that made her feel like a trapped rat.

A gust of wind passed by and Sora suddenly noticed the coldness that wrapped around her, chilling her to the bone. Not knowing what else to do, she hugged herself in an attempt to warm herself.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Sora cried into the shadows. Her voiced bounced around, echoing her sentences, taunting her.

"Sora?"

Sora turned her head to the direction of the sound.

"Sora."

Hearing it more clearly, she walked towards the voice, running towards it as it grew louder. Seeing a glimmer of light, Sora sprinted though it.

There was a flash of light.

"Sora, are you okay?" Came Sarah's worried voice.

"Yeah, you don't look too well. Are you sure you're okay?" Mia asked, a confused expression on her face.

Temporarily blinded by the light, Sora's eyes slowly refocused and watched the scene unfold around her.

"Mm." Sora heard herself say with a little nod. "Yeah, I'm fine…I'm just a little tired is all…" She replied, chuckling a little to relieve the atmosphere. Mia and Sarah didn't seem to believe her, but decided to let it go, much to her relief.

Sora looked around confusedly. She was at Kaleido Stage now? How can that be? As she thought about the situation, she heard voices approaching from behind her. Panicking, Sora frantically looked around for a place to hide. As the voices got closer, she dived into a pile of storage boxes, but by the time she realized there was a crewmember in the way of the boxes, it was too late.

Flying through him, Sora immediately stood up and starting bowing up and down, apologizing, "Ah- Sorry! You see I jumped into those boxes because…um I s-saw my…my d-d-dolphin in there. Wait! I mean my dog whose name is Dolphin. You're probably wondering when I got a dog and it's a funny story really. You see I was training and, and I fell and was all of a sudden pounced on and I started screaming because I thought it was a monster and all and it looked hungry so I took it home and fed it and then it ran off and I thought it was here and that's why I dove and crashed right through you. I'm very, very sorry!" Sora rambled on with one final deep bow, sweating profusely as she hoped he would believe her obvious lie. She never really was a great liar.

Wait a second. Did she just say through him? Tilting her head a bit, she saw that the guy was completely ignoring her and was in the same exact position he was in before she jumped into him.

Standing up fully now, Sora cautiously walked towards the crewmember and lightly poked him with her finger. To her surprise, her hand phased right through his head. Sora's look of surprise quickly turned into one of amusement as she stuck her hand through his head a few more times.

'Hey this is kinda fun… STOP! What am I thinking? I need to find out what's going on here!'

Sora turned her attention away from the crewmember and saw herself walking towards the stage. Her mind flashed back to the conversation she heard not too long ago.

'That's right. This was last night's performance and I'm about to go on for the last act.'

Not knowing what else to do, Sora ran after herself through the curtains.

Another flash of light blinded Sora and as she gained her vision again, she saw the faces of hundreds. She was standing on top of the post, gripping tightly on the bar.

Sudden pain pierced through her right leg and Sora reflexively dropped her right hand to grip it.

Gritting her teeth, Sora pushed away her thoughts of the pain and gripped the bar again. She couldn't disappoint the audience. No matter what, the show must go on.

Staring across at Leon, Sora chuckled to herself. Her mind wandered off to the Legendary Great Maneuver she attempted so long ago with Layla. This was probably how Layla felt three years ago, injured but not willing to back down because of her duty to the audience.

Sora almost blushed at the scrutinizing gaze Leon was giving her. 'I wonder if Layla felt this guilty when she lied to everyone and to me about her injury.' Locking eyes with Leon, Sora gave a slight nod to tell him that she was ready. Leon nodded back and jumped off his platform, flipping upwards and wrapped his legs around the bar.

Taking a deep breath, Sora counted the number of swings and analyzed Leon's movement. A couple of minutes passed by before Leon reached his maximum height.

Pain rippled through her leg as she pushed off the platform, throwing her timing off. Fatigue had already set in from the earlier performances and Sora could feel her grip slipping from the bar.

The last of her energy and resolve left her as one last wave of pain washed through her. Her arms went numb and she let gravity pull her to the ground.

The gasps, screams and cries of her name soon became a muffled murmur as her vision started fading into a black fog.

"Look Sora. You see that pretty girl on the poster? That's Alice. She loves to create new friends and later you'll see a cat, a BIG caterpillar and they even have a tea party! Oh, your mother's calling us now. Better see what she wants before she screams her head off haha."

"I know we can't replace them, but we'll always be here for you Sora."

"The auditions are over. Don't you know that stage productions always start on time? Go back home."

"You can see me? My name is Fool and I am the Spirit of the Stage."

"I've never, not once in these years, had a partner that's motivated me this much."

"There's no way I'll ever be able to perform at Kaleido Stage again."

"From now on, I want you to become my dream…because I know that you have what it takes to become a true Kaleido Star."

"You don't need to appear on stage. I can do this myself."

"If you have any intent of becoming a true Kaleido Star, then surpass me Sora."

"No, you can't be my dream anymore. Follow your own dream. You've become my pride and joy."

And suddenly everything was gone.

Layla patiently sat by Sora's bedside, hands wrapped around a warm cup of coffee.

It had been three weeks since she arrived at Cape Mery hospital and there was no improvement in Sora's condition. Actually, Layla took that back, Sora did improve. Any scratches, cuts or bruises she obtained were starting to fade and most weren't even visible anymore. The pain had subsided to the point where Sora looked almost serene while she slept. There weren't anymore painful gasps of air that made every visitor cringe every time they were heard. Her broken bones, although not at all close to being healed yet, were taken care of and the doctor had said that they were improving and that there weren't any signs of her condition worsening anytime soon.

But, Sora still didn't wake up from her coma. The doctor had said that all they could do now is be there for her and place their hopes on her till she wakes up.

Layla turned her attention on the other occupants in the room. Sora's parents had arrived just few hours after she did and like Layla, they visited Sora every day.

Because of their frequent visits together, Layla had become quite friendly with them, often passing the time with idle conversations on random topics. They exchanged childhood stories and family experiences. Mr. and Mrs. Naegino told Layla more about Japan while Layla told them about her travels outside of Cape Mery.

Yume was brought along for more moral support. A young and vivacious girl at three, she really reminded Layla of Sora. Her brown hair was currently up in two pigtails and she was wearing a cute little pink skirt and top. Jumping and running around the hospital, Yume was full of energy and Layla could see the same fire found in Sora, in Yume's eyes.

Yume had taken an immediate interest in Layla and her natural charm made Layla warm up to her quickly.

Because of her cold exterior, many assume that Layla was one of those people who didn't like children, but they couldn't be farther from the truth. Layla adored children and it is their smiles that cheer her up the most. Making Yume smile was enough proof for Layla's spirits increased dramatically after she became friends with Yume.

In the times that Layla wasn't visiting Sora, she spent time at the Kaleido Stage.

Life had resumed on the Kaleido Stage, because as Benjamin Franklin had said, "Time is money." The old production was cancelled and all tickets were refunded or exchanged for the new production that was in progress. Rosetta was cast as the lead due to Sora's hospitalization. Nobody was in the spirits to start another show, but being professionals, they knew that if they wanted to protect the stage, they had to continue on.

For Layla, it seemed as though time had stopped. After the first day in Cape Mery, Layla called Macquarie and instructed her to cancel all her plans indefinitely. Macquarie offered to accompany Layla in Cape Mery, but Layla politely declined and told her she wasn't her family maid anymore and that she had her own troubles and career to deal with.

Cathy surprisingly gave a sympathetic response and told Layla to give her condolences to Sora's family. She was informed that Beauty and the Beast will continue as planned with her understudy taking over her role.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Layla jumped up as the noises coming from the various machines grew louder and more frantic.

Her eyes turned to Sora's unconscious body and watched with mixed feelings of happiness and anxiety as she saw Sora's breathing grow more erratic and her limbs twitching uncontrollably.

Worry overcame happiness however as tears started leaking from Sora's closed eyelids.

The door burst open and a swarm of doctors and nurses came in, surrounding Sora's bed.

Three nurses ran to pin Sora's arms and legs down in an attempt to calm the twitching and thrashing of limbs. Commands were screamed and followed.

"Status check!?" The doctor yelled.

"Temperature at a hundred degrees Fahrenheit. She's hyperventilating sir."

"Quick, inject the fluids and bring her to ER now!"

Everything became a blur to Layla as she watched the scene. Then Layla found herself standing alone, spilled coffee forgotten on the floor, listening to the light squeaking of the stretcher disappearing down the hallway.

Hours passed by and Layla was once again in the waiting room. Other friends and workers of Sora's were called immediately after the episode and had arrived at the hospital.

Nobody had said a word since they heard what happened while they were gone. Everybody stared at the glowing red emergency sign, waiting for it to turn off.

Finally, with a loud 'ding' the light turned off and everyone looked at the doors expectantly. The doors clicked open and Mr. and Mrs. Naegino rushed up to the doctor.

"Is my little girl okay? What happened doctor? How is she doing?" Mrs. Naegino frantically asked, tears pouring down her face.

The doctor held up his hand to silence everyone in the room, "She's fine. We do not know what had caused her to have a panic attack, but it was contained and Sora is doing okay now. There is some good news. She seems to have woken up. She is a bit drowsy and unstable, but I'll allow each of you to visit her one at a time. She isn't quite ready for large groups of visitors now, so only three visitors in a group. Mrs. and Mr. Naegino, you may enter. Just a warning though, she might not be the same as you know her."

Mr. and Mrs. Naegino nodded once and Layla watched their forms disappear through the doors.

Thirty minutes passed by and the doors opened again, revealing grim and distraught parents. One by one the others went in and each time they came out, they all wore the same expressions as Sora's parents.

Finally it was Layla's turn and the doctor motioned her to go through the doors.

Slowly walking towards the door, Layla saw a brief flash of Sora's smiling face. She hesitated for a moment and then walked in without looking back.

Layla's breath halted for a second as she saw Sora sitting up, staring out the window. It was evening and the rays of the setting sun fell on Sora, basking her in a healthy and angelic glow. Layla couldn't help, but think for a fleeting moment that Sora was breathtakingly beautiful, regardless of the bruises and scars.

Seeming to sense her presence, Sora slowly turned to face Layla. For the second time that month, Layla was at a loss for words.

Tilting her head in an adorable manner, Sora gave Layla a look of confusion before giving her a light smile.

Once again, Sora's smiling face flashed again in her mind, snapping Layla out of her daze. Something was wrong. Her smile, it seemed different somehow. Before Layla could dwell on it longer, Sora spoke, her voice friendly and familiar, yet unknown and detached.

"Who are you?"

It was then, that Layla Hamilton learned how such a small and innocent question could hurt so much.

A/N: It's time to get this party started! It's been a slow start, but I'm happy to say that intros are over and the real story starts now.

Amnesia is a common plot device found in many stories, but I just couldn't help myself. Memory loss has always intrigued me and I've always found it interesting to see the different senarios come out from it. So I decided to try my own hand at it. I hope you will enjoy what I have planned for them.

Lastly, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year. The next chapter might not be posted until after New Year's so I wanted to give my wishes now :)

Thanks for reading and reviews are always welcome and appreciated. See you next chapter!