I lay still with my eyes shut, listening to birds whistling in the trees outside my window. I knew I'd have to wake up and go to school soon, but it was nice just being able to daydream for a bit. Besides that, I didn't really feel like going to school today, my head was hurting and I was aching all over. Maybe I had the flu or something? I'd have to tell mum that when she decided to get me out of bed.

I couldn't really remember what I'd been dreaming about or when I got to bed, except that the dream was a nightmare. A very strange nightmare where my classmates had vanished and I'd been falling. My head decided to ache more after remembering it.

But the strangest thing wasn't even the nightmare; it was that I couldn't feel my sheets around me. I reached down without looking to try and pull them up- but they couldn't be found.

Maybe mum had already been in, seen that I wasn't awake and pulled the sheets right back so I'd want to get up myself.

This was bad; I really didn't feel like I could get up today. It just felt like one of those days where you stay in bed all day and rest. I could understand why she did it though; on most days it worked.

In the end I figured I'd have to get out of bed, regardless of how sick I felt. Without the sheets it just felt too cold.

It was at this point I opened my eyes and realised I wasn't in my room; instead I was lying down on the ground. The ground was soft and spongy due to the grass, but it felt unreal- something I'd mistaken for symptoms of flu turned out to be real, or at least as real as it could be.

I went to sit up, and had to stop because I felt dizzy. I waited a bit this time and next time I tried I was able to sit up. Looking around, I saw that I was in a field that went on into the horizon, the grass in the field didn't move, as there was no wind to stir them. The trees didn't move either, not the trees far away or the one that was next to me on my right.

It didn't look like there were any people in this field besides me. Everything was completely silent.

There was no Popoi, no Tarutaru, no mum, no dad…

I sobbed; I had no idea where I was anymore. I wasn't anywhere near home, I was hurt or sick and no one else was here. Why am I here? Am I still having that nightmare…?

I figured it out- the nightmare wasn't really a nightmare. It was what really happened to me. My classmates really had vanished and I had really fallen from the sky.

But Popoi had been there when I'd fallen, unless he'd let go before I landed.

…That didn't change the problem, whether Popoi was here or not- I'd made a guess and it was the wrong one. Either I'd teleported to a land that was unknown to me, or I was dead and this was the only afterlife there was. The afterlife option would explain why I felt so unreal, but it wouldn't explain why I was still hurting.

It would also explain why I wasn't wearing any of the clothes I knew I had, but instead was wearing a shirt and skirt, both white with gold trimmings. These clothes were exactly the sorts I could imagine a dead person wearing in the afterlife, if it even exists.

For a while I sat there and cried. I couldn't explain what I felt, whether I was sad, angry with myself, and a mixture of other things. Was it regret? Was it hopelessness? I didn't know, as all of them swirled around inside my head, a head that could not possibly sort them properly due to the ache pounding within it.

I sat like this, trying to block out all of these feelings, trying to just stop thinking at all.

But I couldn't stay like that forever.

After a while of unknown length, I could hear footsteps approaching me from behind. They sounded loud, but at the same time soft. They made my headache feel even worse, to the point I covered my ears with my hands to stop it. It didn't stop all the noise, but it made it bearable.

I looked behind me towards the steps, to realise there was a tree just a little behind me. It hadn't been providing any shade at all, as the sun was glaring down on it from my angle.

Behind this tree was a girl.

I looked again, not because I thought she was a hallucination as much as that she looked like Amitie. At the same time, she didn't look a thing like her. This Amitie- thing, she had the same hair, but her hat was missing and her face looked much more intense than usual. She was wearing a strange looking uniform that mimicked mine except for sleeves. Her eyes narrowed and smile straight, it looked like someone had sewn another's face onto Amities'.

She stared at me for a while, stopped on the other side of the tree.

I looked at her as well; I wasn't sure what to do, or even why she was here. Had I somehow been teleported to the same place she had, even though I'd been lost? Was she dead? Was there something else I couldn't even guess?

At the same time, I wasn't sure if I should run away from her. I sat there instead.

She advanced towards me, going around the tree to her right. As she went around, I could see she was limping, especially when she had to lift her feet higher over the tree roots.

She was now about a foot worth of centimetres away from me. Her face had turned even stormier looking, the frown stretching across her face.

She stopped.

A few seconds went by, with her just standing there. I thought that maybe she'd be able to help me, though I wasn't too hopeful at this point.

Whatever hope I did have was burst when she grabbed me by the two straps that held up my shirt. She held me up for a second, looking into my eyes. I looked into hers, wondering why. Then she turned and threw me, the tree breaking my fall. I crumpled, falling forwards. The pain doubled due to this.

I just lay there, hoping that she would leave me alone, but even more that this would turn out to be a mistake.

I knew it wouldn't though.

I could hear her footsteps approaching again. I shrank down and curled up. Even though Amitie wasn't the most athletic person, she could still hurt me if she wanted to, the last being proof of that. She didn't even have to be physical to hurt me- magic could do the trick much better.

She got closer; I could hear her breathing above me. My back didn't want to be curled up while hurt, but I couldn't do much else. I couldn't run away like this, couldn't possibly win in a magic dual or a physical one. There really wasn't anything that could be done to save myself. I tried to feel scared, but all I felt was numbness. I waited for this to end.

She grabbed me again by the shoulder straps, dragging me up so I was sitting. The pain only seemed to get worse with movement. When I faced away from her, she dropped me and grabbed my head instead, making it so I could only focus on her.

Her face looked infuriated at me, staring with a grimace and blank eyes. The green in them looked diluted. I turned my eyes away from hers; looking at the ground instead.

I waited for what she was going to do to me. I wasn't sure what would happen and I wasn't interested in making guesses anymore. I was tired of everything. I couldn't bother being scared or trying to get away, after all, if I was dead already, what was the point in trying?

'Why? Why did you do this to me?' I could hear her whisper in my ear.

'…But, I didn't do anything to you Amitie.' I whispered back, wondering if maybe I was right and it was a misunderstanding. I looked back at her to see if it was, but instead what I saw was her crying. Her face held still, with no movement other than the tears and the red that was taking over.

Seeing that I was looking at her, she simply repeated 'why?'

'I don't know what you mean…' I said to her, trying to keep my voice loud enough to be heard.

'It- you took it from me. I'll never be the same now. Why would you do that?' I could hear her gasping. The hold on my head was loosening.

She let go, letting me tumble to the ground. I cringed as my legs were forced once again to stand. As I was trying to stand up, something that was nearly impossible, she span around so that she was facing behind her.

I nearly fell down after that, but grabbed the tree that was behind me and was able to hold myself steady. When I'd gotten my balance, I looked up and saw that someone else had grabbed her sleeves, holding her back from them. At first I thought it was the boy from the dream I had, and shrank back as far as I could while still hanging onto the tree.

Instead it was a brown kind of person, but even that wouldn't describe him. He looked like a plush toy brought to life.

He put his face really close to the Amitie- thing's face, and said 'hey, you shouldn't be this upset; it's a wonderful day! Besides why were you hurting this young lady for anyway? She looks a bit sad, but that's no reason to hurt her.'

I just stared. What a weird thing to say to anyone, not just the Amitie-thing. Was this one of the inhabitants here? Why was he helping me and being so strange about it?

She started struggling against his grasp, darting around and trying to throw his hands off her sleeves. In response he gripped tighter, then pulled her forward, upsetting her balance and causing her to fall into him.

He shook his head. 'Hey, I've never seen you around here anyway, where are you from?' He asked her. 'Besides, why are you being so weird, when it's such a nice day?' He asked her again, not waiting for her to answer his first few questions.

I thought he was weird, but that was nothing to what the Amitie-thing must have thought, because she doubled her attempts to get away. Ripping her sleeves out of his hands finally, she turned to glare at me and fled, disappearing in a matter of seconds.

I stared after her, as did the strange boy.

'What a strange girl.' I heard him say. Only after a second did I realise he must have been talking to me.

'Uh, I guess she must be…' I said in reply. I didn't say that I thought she was my friend, or even more like, was just my friend who had lost "it", whatever "it" was.

I saw him turn to me out of the corner of my eye, so I turned to him too, so I could see if what I'd seen when he was behind the Amitie-thing was real; if he really did look like a plush toy.

He did, more specifically he looked like a fox, with the tail, paws and ears. He was wearing similar clothes to me, except with shorts instead of skirt. I sighed and wondered whether all the clothes would be the same in this strange world, whether I'd ever again get to wear my old jumper and dress.

But even more so, would I get out of this strange world at all?

'Oh, why are you so upset anyway?' He asked me, looking at my face. I hadn't realised I'd started crying again.

'I-it's nothing…' I said, taking one hand off the tree to wipe my tears away.

'There most definitely is something wrong. I thought you were sad, and this just proves it. If it was really nothing, you wouldn't be crying!' He said, and started walking towards me.

Meanwhile, I was backing away, at least as far as I could whilst still clinging to the tree.

He kept approaching me, while I kept backing away.

Eventually it came to the point where I had to let go of the tree to keep backing away. I did and fell over my feet, landing on some of the aboveground roots.

Next thing, his hand was in front of me, palm turned upwards. 'It's no good you tripping over, are you dizzy or something? Do you want a hand?' He asked in succession, looking down on me concernedly.

I looked into his eyes and turned away. I didn't know him, besides that he was strange and he could be trying to trick me by acting kind.

When I didn't respond, he reached down, and went to grab my hand. His hand went straight through mine. For a minute, he stood there, looking shocked. I was shocked too, but not as much as him. After all, a bunch of weird things had happened to me today, this was just another one of many.

'Well, that was a very strange thing; maybe you're not all here?' he laughed, and then grabbed at the strap of my shirt instead. I was dragged to my feet again, but nearly fell over again. My legs didn't want to walk or stand by the stinging feeling that radiated throughout. My head decided to resume hurting with a vengeance.

'Still, you shouldn't be looking so upset, what's wrong?' He asked, catching me again.

I looked at him, he seemed very sincere, but that didn't mean anything. Anybody could look sincere without really meaning it. His frown and the way his eyes crinkled looked right, but how could I be sure that he was truthful?

I needed answers though, and there was no one else here that I knew to help me find them. I knew that I would need to trust him, even if it was only due to having no choice. It was still difficult- I didn't even know why he was helping me.

'Ah, I guess you want to be properly introduced.' I heard him exclaim. 'Okay, I'm Luckiness, but everyone calls me Lucky, so you can too.' He exclaimed again. He waited for a second for me to introduce myself. I didn't.

For a while, he just waited, then decided to speak again. 'Um, anyway…'I heard him falter. 'I think I already know you from somewhere, from when I was still alive but I'm not sure. I haven't seen her for a long time. Is by any chance your name Liddel?'

For a minute, I listened without really understanding. This really was the land of the dead, but not only that, but he thought he knew me. He was wrong of course, because that wasn't my name.

I told him so in that many words. He turned away.

'But I really think you are.' I heard him say. 'You look like her if she'd grown older and I'm pretty sure she survived beyond me, but maybe I'm wrong…'

For a second all was silent. We were both thinking. I was thinking about the many things that I'd been thinking about all the time here, with the inclusion of the thought that I was in the presence of a crazy person. I wasn't sure what he was thinking.

This silence was broken when he spun around and pointed at me: 'I know! Liddel had a very cute smile; if you can smile as cute as her then you are her.' He yelled, keeping the smile on his face while he did so.

Well today was certainly the day for surprises- it's just that none of them had been good. This conversation was just making my headache worse. Good intentions or not, even I had to admit he was annoying.

'I'm not Liddel. You don't know me. Please just leave me alone. Please.' I said to him. It was harder to think of what to say when I was hurting.

The next thing that happened was a look of puzzlement, then he reached forward and tried to grab my cheeks, presumably to get me to smile. His plan failed because his hands went straight through me.

Another puzzled look: 'but I can't leave you alone, you're sad. It would be silly to leave you alone, besides, I think you're Liddel.' He commented, tilting his head. His smile had disappeared, and was a frown again.

For a jiffy we waited. My headache was still hurting, but it was going away a bit now. He just waited for me to respond. I sighed and remarked 'If I do smile, will you leave me alone? I'm just not in a very good mood today and I might yell at you if you don't.' I remembered how I'd gotten angry at Tarutarus birthday and hurt his feelings. I didn't like the idea of doing that again, even with this crazy creature.

'Okay.' He said. 'But wait, what if you're Liddel. Do I still leave you alone?'

I thought for a second. 'If I am Liddel, then could you tell me how you know me please?'

'Okay then. I'll definitely do that.' He remarked.

I thought about more happy things now. Helping my mother with cooking one night, the same night we ended up eating leftovers because I'd turned on the oven too high and burnt everything. The day when I first became friends with Tarutaru. The time I was able to make a really pretty artwork in Goody Good's class, which got praised by dad and hung up on the hallway wall…

'Ah, you really can smile. At first I thought you couldn't but you can Liddel.' I heard him say. At first I didn't think about it too much, then I realised: He'd called me Liddel again.

'So my smile did look like hers…' I mumbled. Apparently it was loud enough for him to hear.

'Of course you're Liddel; you do look a lot like her. It was the reason I came over here in the first place.' He said. So that was why he helped me before.

I went to sit down; he'd let my straps go a while ago. My legs had gotten used to standing. The only problem with this is that my legs didn't want to bend to sit down. I feel down instead, my legs stinging due to both the fall and being landed on uncomfortably. Wincing, I murmured out a question. 'What do you know about me then?'

He looked a bit confused at that moment, as if he needed to think. This just made me doubt him further. He could have been making up a story as he went along.

Next thing, he looked down, as if thinking about things that were sad. 'You were one of my best friends when I was alive. We would go everywhere together, you leading my hand and I dragging behind. I wasn't very brave, you see: Not like you. You were always brave, going into the river to fish for crabs with your dad, searching through the forest, looking for treasures.' He looked back at me, into my eyes and started talking again.

'Sometimes we'd get into more trouble than we could get ourselves out of, like the time we fell into a cave. You tried using me as a stepping-stone to get to the top of the hole at first, then gave up and started crying. That was a sad time, didn't think we'd ever get out. Lucky your dad was there, or that I'm lucky. Not sure which really.'

Suddenly, the smile appeared back on his face, though it looked a bit fake after that talk.

'Anyway, your parents' he said, drawing me back into his conversation. 'They'd like to meet you again for sure. Would you like to see them?'

'W-what do you mean?' I asked him, turning towards him again. I was curious, if he was telling the truth like I thought he was, then I'd actually be able to meet my original parents. But I wasn't sure whether I wanted too or not; I liked my parents, the ones who had taken care of me since before I could remember. At the same time, I wanted to know that there were others like me out there, ones that I knew and was related to.

'Your parents would like to see you I'm sure.' He said again. By this time, I believed him a bit more, the story sounded convincing, even if it didn't sound like me at all.

But a lot can change since before I can remember.

'Will you take me to see them?'

'For sure Miss Liddel' He said and went to grab my hands again. Once again they went straight through.

'Umm, I think I'll be able to walk by myself.' I told him. I didn't really believe that I'd be able to, I just wanted to get going.

Wordlessly, he started walking. Instead he hummed to himself. I followed him, my legs were working better now, they didn't seem to hurt at all, the only problem being they felt too light, like clouds.

When I got closer to him I asked him I went to tap him on the shoulder, then remembered that I couldn't. I wanted to ask him something.

'Hey, something wrong Liddel?' He said, turning around to face me.

'Nothing really, but could you please not call me that. My name's Rider and it feels a little uncomfortable to be called that…'

'No problems Lidde- I mean Rider.'

We walked off together into the trees. Or at least I think I walked, it wasn't just my legs feeling light anymore…

000000000

…

Everything changed. I do not know why.

All of a sudden I was no longer in a field with Lucky, instead I was somewhere else entirely different. I was lying down again and I thought at first that mum- my real mum had placed me here to sleep. Maybe this was a weird bed for dead people to sleep in.

Then reality once again started to set in. Maybe I'd been sleeping like I thought, but the field and Lucky were the dream. Where was I now?

I turned over onto my back and lifted my arms, which I could feel my sleeves on, trying to open the box. It wouldn't budge. I could feel something soft under me, like a mattress. I tried again to push the lid off, but it still wouldn't budge.

My head started aching again, but not as bad as it had been. I waited there for a while, trying to understand where I was. I was fairly certain that the field and Lucky and my parents was a dream, though it always seems more like a nightmare when I wake up from it. The dreams didn't happen very often thankfully, but when they did I always woke up before meeting my parents. That's why they were like nightmares; they make you believe what's going on is real then take it away again.

But what if that was real? If I was really dead, then where am I now?

It clicked.

I was in a coffin. It would explain why I wasn't able to get out and also why I couldn't hear anyone nearby, the reason being I was buried under six feet of earth.

For a second I just lay there, shocked. Then I started screaming. I wasn't just screaming though, I was thrashing and kicking at the walls of the coffin. The combined noise was incredibly loud; I just hoped someone on the surface could hear it.

I felt something hanging onto my leg. This mystery creature felt furry and I was sure it was a rat. The only difference was that this rat was speaking: 'Hey, Rider it's okay, it's okay. Please be quiet.'

In response I screamed louder and kicked until it was not hanging onto my leg anymore. This thing still kept trying to talk to me though, until I caught it with my foot and slammed it into the wall. Next thing I know, my mouth was shut for me. The rat had climbed back up onto my neck and was holding my mouth shut. Now I could only make muffled noises. I started ducking around, or at least as much as I could, trying to get the rat to let go of my mouth.

It didn't work.

'Please Rider it's just me. Please be quiet before they get in here.' I heard it say between shushing me and hanging on. I stopped making the noises, but started crying instead. I wanted to keep yelling, but I didn't know what to do with this rat on my face either. If I didn't listen, then it could tear me to shreds with its claws.

I looked to the side of the coffin, a light had appeared at a tiny slit near the top. Voices could be heard outside. I must have alerted someone and they're rescuing me. I thought. The rat started shushing me all the more when the light appeared through a tiny slit in the top of the lid . In a second I was able to see properly enough to see that it was Popoi stopping me from speaking.

He shushed me even more when he saw that I'd try and ask him questions and greet him with things such as I never thought I'd see you again, Where are I?

Soon, I wasn't even crying anymore, Popoi was here and he would protect me from anything bad that could happen. Besides that I was sure that I would be freed soon. But even after that, it took me a while to pay attention to the talking outside, I was just too glad to be safe.

'…Look, it just didn't sound like your voice dear. If it was you then it would be different somehow.' Said a female's voice.

'I think you mean lower pitched Hana.' Commented another, more male voice.

'What a weird group of people.' I thought. 'Are they talking to each other or to someone else?' I wondered.

My question was answered when a different person spoke up: 'are you trying to say that I sound like a boy? What kind of a dad says that to their daughter.' She yelled.

'I'm not saying that at all, it's just that when you yell, it's lower pitched. I'm not saying you're a boy at all.' The male replied. He sounded exasperated with the conversation.

'Then what are you saying? Spit it out. Do you think I have boyfriends hiding here? Ones who scream like girls and are just waiting for you two to leave. Is that it?' She said. I could feel the blistering tension in the remarks.

'Ringo, don't talk like that.' I heard the lady yell. 'You usually don't behave like this, why now? All we want to know is why you were screaming and you're turning it into an argument.' She finished, somewhat lamely.

But who am I to judge, especially about how people talk.

For a small while, there was silence. At first I thought my rescuers had left and tried to ask Popoi. He just shushed me more and sat on my mouth. I thought about biting him, but decided that he would hate me afterwards if I did.

But then they started talking again.

'Look, dear, we're just worried. You usually don't have any problems at night and… well you've been acting strange recently. It worries me. I thought maybe you were being hurt by someone, maybe someone broke through the window. I'm sure that's what your father thought too.'

Another silence. It was getting to be a regular occurrence. I wondered when they would stop both talking or standing around silently and let me out.

'Mum, I just had a bad dream okay, I'm getting older now so don't worry about my voice or me. Besides, next time don't try to knock the door down please. Its just courtesy. Goodnight, mum and dad.'

I heard the people walking, saying "Goodnights" as they went. I hoped what I was hearing was wrong- the footsteps were going away from me, not towards me. That hope vanished when the small amount of light I could see vanished, leaving me in darkness.

I panicked and started struggling against Popoi. He wouldn't let go even when I was trying to pull him away. I'd had hope, then lost it, then regained it and it looked like it was going to be lost again. When would life not tease me into thinking that everything would be all right?

However, while it was dark another person was in the room. I could hear this person lifting unknown objects off of the top of the coffin thing. I guessed this would be the person called Ringo, the one they were talking about before they left. Just after that, I stopped struggling with Popoi.

I was relieved, but also scared. I didn't know her, or at least didn't think I did. Still, being out there with a stranger would be much better than staying in here and dying.

Soon after, the sound of objects being moved stopped and the lid was lifted off instead. Above me stood a somewhat familiar red haired girl. Weren't she friends with the fishy person? The lid was placed on the ground, Popoi jumped off my mouth and I sat up. This was really strange; I had no idea of what was happening or why. Everything that had or was happening didn't seem to be connected at all except for a few events.

'Still, this girl must be Ringo and she'll tell me what's happening.' I told myself.

She spoke first: 'I'm glad they went back to sleep.' She muttered. 'Popoi, why weren't you keeping a better eye on her? You said that she'd probably wake up soon, so why weren't you ready. This incident could have ruined everything, and you just let it happen.' She whispered angrily, looking at Popoi fiercely.

He looked away from her and turned to me, as if seeing if I would speak. I did.

'Umm, excuse me Miss Ringo, but what happened to make me end up here?' I asked. There were other questions I wanted answered, but this one was the best to ask first due to it being the most general. She looked like she was going to ignore the question for a minute to lecture Popoi again, but then answered.

'Well, I don't really know myself.' She said and looked at me, still whispering. 'I was walking around the streets and I found Popoi first. He had wandered through the prefecture looking for help and had found me. He'd said something about using magic to find me, and that he needed help with an unconscious student. Personally I think we should have taken you to hospital, even with knowing they'd take you away. But nooo said the cat puppet, we can't take her there; it would be useless; she won't di-'

'Ringo…Please just get on with the story.' Said Popoi in an agitated whisper.

'Alright then.' She said. 'Anyway, he led me back, with a little help when he got lost, and I took you home and hid you in my old toy box while I decided what to do with you.'

This made me feel silly. It wasn't a coffin- just a toy box. Still, most toy boxes, when laid in would be uncomfortable due to the toys making a lumpy area. This one didn't feel like that at all. What a strange toy box…

I waited for a bit, thinking of another question. 'Was there any strange creatures around when you found me.'

'No, nothing was there. Why do you ask?' She said after looking away at Popoi and turning back to me.

'N-no reason…' I said. I didn't want to be seen as crazy. If I said that to her, I would be seen that way.

I heard creaking a long way away. Was it the other people, Ringos' mother and father? She heard it too and turned towards the sound, as did Popoi. Nothing else happened; the door didn't open and no more sounds happened that were similar.

'Anyway, this is very strange, isn't it?' She remarked as she turned back to me. 'Though I've already heard most of the story from Popoi, so don't worry about that.' That was nice, because I was wondering when I'd have to tell her. I wasn't really wanting to at all, telling those things to a near stranger, especially how I'd just left Tarutaru behind…

She turned to Popoi: 'Still, you said that once she was awake we could leave and go looking for them, that it would be easier with more people. Especially one whom the enemy-guy seems to like somewhat.' She finished, then looked back at me: 'are you okay with that plan, or are you still hurt from the fall?' I looked down at myself- I wasn't hurt, no matter what happened in the dream, but then again the pain from my dream could have been influenced from the fall.

'No, I'm fine…' I said, looking away for a second at Popoi. I wanted to tell him about the strange thing from before, the one that could be a dream. He wouldn't consider me crazy and would be able to help me. After all, being Mrs Accord's puppet, he would either have taught her a lot or learnt a lot from her. He would definitely have an answer as to what happened before.

'Well, if you're not hurt, we should be able to leave tomorrow and search for any missing people or this weird guy Popoi was talking about.' She said, hopefulness sounding in her whisper.

'W-what do you mean, what's the rest of the plan, where am I even? And who are you anyway? Why should I trust you?' I asked repeatedly, getting louder every word due to panic. I didn't know her and was supposed to go out and search for the guy, Cadel. I wasn't sure what I should do, whether I should go with her or stay away. After all, he was dangerous and had promised next time to kill me like he was told to.

Popoi decided to start speaking again: 'Rider, please calm down unless you want them to be back in here.' He said, referring to the parents from before. 'Look, we'll tell you everything soon okay. Just not now. It's too late for one, where Ringo should be sleeping. And Ringo, it would be better to say these things when she, referring to Rider, is calmer, not now. She just woke up and would be disoriented from having to heal so quickly. Do both of you agree with me?' He asked, looking from me to Ringo.

We both said 'Okay.'

'Good, because I'm going back to sleep. You should too, because if you two stay up all night chatting, you'll be too tired tomorrow to actually do anything. It's been four days and for all we know time could be running out for the missing people.' He finished, even when he was whispering he managed to sound sarcastic somewhat, though I'm not sure if it was just me.

Everyone went quiet after that, I laid back down on my side, Popoi lay next to my back and Ringo put the lid back on the box, putting out any light from the windows or from eyes gotten used to the dark. I didn't here anything heavy being moved around again, and just to check it, I pressed against the lid, it moved upwards. Letting in some light.

'Don't do that please Rider.' Whispered Popoi. I put the lid down, but left it tilted a bit so that some light from a window fell across us. Popoi didn't complain so I left it like that.

'Hey, Popoi.' I whispered back; 'why do I have to be in here with the lid closed?'

'You have to because Ringos' parents don't know you're here. There have been some close calls, none as close as before, but they haven't figured it out yet thankfully. If they see you, they'll take you away, just like most people in this world would.'

I thought about that for a bit longer. The people from before could take me away? And I'd been so sure they would save me before. I felt doubly silly. Then I remembered what Id wanted to talk to Popoi about and decided that now was the best time.

'…Popoi, I have something to tell you.' I said, turning over form my side to face him.

'Can it please wait until tomorrow Rider? It's really really late at night.' He said, not turning to face me. I still tried to talk to him after that, but he ignored me. He was really determined to get some sleep, maybe it was because he was a cat puppet.

Disheartened, I gave up, turned over and tried to get some sleep too. Instead I started thinking about what Lucky had said: How once upon a time I'd been brave and adventurous.

I still couldn't see myself being like that, even when I tried to think about myself that way. Maybe one day I'd see it, but not now.

I spent the rest of the night trying to not think about it or the Amitie- thing and get to sleep.

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Only thing I can say here is that I'm sorry the chapter update took so long, I kind of got lazy during the middle of last month and combined with this chapter just being difficult for me it didn't turn out well. I'll try to keep to a monthly schedule though; it allows me time to do what I need to do, excluding this chapter.