This was something I originally wrote for the LJ community disney_uberland's Pick-a-Challenge, where participants were to pick one of the community's previous challenges and submit works for points. I picked the drabble challenge, which meant I was supposed to write 10 different drabbles (or 20 drabbles in my case, since I picked the drabble challenge twice). But I always wanted to try this thing I saw once, where a whole story was made entirely of drabbles. Each drabble flows into the next to make a continuous story. I thought it was really cool...but I don't know if I pulled this off very well.
Anyway, takes place sometime during 'The Savage Lands'. It's based off the song 'Heaven's Not Enough' from the anime Wolf's Rain. If you happen to have the song or can get a hold of it, it might be fun to listen to it while you read these...or not. Whatever works for you.
Enjoy!
Heaven's Not Enough
01.
He was awakened by a sound. Faint, far away… something he thought he should recognize but couldn't.
Opening his eyes, he saw nothing but swirls of black and white floating in the emptiness. Where was he?
He remembered… sacrificing his body… to save them. He thought he died… but he hadn't expected to keep his cybernetic body.
Then the white streaks rushed past him, gathering to form a tunnel of light in the distance. Feeling ground beneath his feet, he understood what he must do.
"Is this it?" he breathed, rattling the stillness. With no other answer, he started forward.
02.
Antauri…
It was the sound again, but stronger now. He looked toward it, facing the darkness growing behind him, shrouding his vision. He strained to hear whatever called him.
Antauri…
And his eyes widened when he finally recognized it.
"Chiro!"
What was happening? His body… Chiro… how…?
"It is the final connection of all you leave behind."
He turned; though the light shadowed this new figure, he recognized the Alchemist's voice from his dreams.
"What do you mean? Where am I?"
"Do you not feel the answer?"
He paused, and suddenly was overcome by the pain… that filled Chiro's heart.
03.
"But… how could this happen?" he wondered, looking to the Alchemist.
"There exist things that are stronger than even death, things such as love… and sorrow."
He winced and looked away. "I… never intended things would turn out this way."
"Perhaps not. But not even you fully considered the consequences of your actions."
It seems he hadn't. He had been so determined to stop the Evil One to bring peace to a world used to fighting, that he hadn't feared death… and perhaps death would bring him peace as well.
He didn't realize that Chiro's grief could keep him alive.
04.
"And now?" he asked, looking to the Alchemist once more. "What will happen?"
"Now you must choose a path." A shadow stretched toward him as the Alchemist motioned to the light. "This leads you beyond, to where souls find rest after death."
The bright white called him, but he turned back to the darkness. "And there?"
"There, you will return to where you came from."
Where he came from… a chance to repair the damage he created, to fix what he had done. A chance he knew he held only because Chiro carried his life.
He stepped toward the shadows.
05.
"This is your decision?" the Alchemist called.
"As things stand, I have no other choice."
"Your body was destroyed. There will be suffering if you return to that world."
"There will be suffering if I don't."
"You think so much of yourself? That the boy cannot endure without you?"
He faced the Alchemist. "I was not referring to him."
The figure fell quiet. Turning away from the light for the final time, he ran as fast as he could, letting the shadows swallow him. The calling voice grew even stronger.
Antauri…
Suddenly he heard a heartbeat… and it wasn't Chiro's.