Guess who's twenty-first birthday is on Saturday? ...God, I'm getting old. So, since I got my internet working, but not my antivirus, lets hope I get a new one next week. Again, thanks to all of you guys reading this, even if you don't review. Enjoy!

This is where the story starts to turn away from the main storyline a bit. Walter being revived changed not only his part of the story, but other parts as well… You'll see~

Themes include: Fairyland - Angelzoom, Leave out All the Rest - Linkin Park, Promise (reprise) - Silent Hill 2 OST, Room of Angel - Silent Hill 4: The Room OST

Chapter 16: Room of Angel

Her heels clacking loudly against the pavement, Shirley searched the rich district near Madam Musette's house. The pouring rain made her blonde hair cling to her face, and her shear blouse sleeves had become soaked through. Panting, she yet again ran up to a house and asked its occupants if they had seen a girl in a yellow dress pass by that evening. That she was sick and desperately needed medical attention. And yet again, she had received a 'no'.

Holding out a hand to a fenced gate, Shirley gasped for air as she looked around her surroundings in the dark. A raindrop bounced off of her bangs and slid down her face as worried thoughts ran through her mind. This was bad… The dark night made it hard enough trying to find Norma, but with the rainstorm rampaging through Werites Beacon, the time to find her was cut drastically. With the fever the poison coursing through Norma's system gave her, she wouldn't last long in this freezing rain…

Swallowing her discomfort and steeling herself against that horrible thought, the current Merines swallowed, and once again ran into the night.

x x x

Unbeknownst to the Fun Bunch, another figure was frantically searching for her. After checking the duct to see if she had gone anywhere outside of town, which she hadn't, Walter searched the city in some of the more obvious places she might have been. In the dark, his glowing wings would normally be a bit noticeable, but he had thrown caution to the wind the moment he realized Norma was missing and injured in this rainstorm.

The rain pounded against his face as he landed in the fountain plaza, his flight and the rain both making his blond hair cling to his face. He pushed back the bangs in frustration, his vibrant eyes almost glowing in the dark. He searched all over the empty plaza for any sign of her. Nothing. Cursing loudly to himself, he once again took off into the sky to the next spot she might have been. Where the hell was she? She wasn't at any of the normal places she would go, so where in Nerifes did she go?

Thunder rumbled overhead as the blond gritted his teeth. "Damnit, Norma, where are you…?" Walter asked himself, eyes scanning for that tell-tale yellow figure somewhere in the city. He refused to let another person die on his watch. Not again.

x x x

Stopping for a brief moment to catch his breath, Senel ran down another road on his search for Norma.

This was bad, Senel thought to himself. Nearly an hour had already passed since Norma had disappeared, and she wasn't anywhere to be found. At this rate she would become hypothermic before they found her. Wiping the rain out of his eyes with an already-wet sleeve, he felt a sudden lack of raindrops and paused in his running. By the time his curiosity had registered, the rain had once again begun to pour on him. He looked up at the strange phenomena, and saw a faint glowing shape fly away from him and disappear over a house.

Tilting his head at the strange object, Senel shook his head and continued his search of his bubbly friend. He had better things to be doing then to think about strange glowing things flying through the sky.

x x x

Walter landed a large monument near the entrance of the graveyard, wings disappearing from view. He paused for a moment to pant for breath, and he struggled to stop his body from shivering. This had to be the place. There was no other location she could be at; he's searched them all. Swallowing his exhaustion, he ran up the large hill to the graveyard, raindrops pattering against his cold face.

At the top, the eren slowed down to a walk once he saw the gates, breath coming in heavy gasps. Once again, his clothing was soaked through from the rain, just like it was early that morning. His cloak's only use now was to block the slight wind that blew up from the sea, and from the massive chills that ran their way up and down his arms whenever the cool breeze hit him, he doubted it was doing a very good job. The Ferines wouldn't be at all surprised if he caught a fever from the amount of time he had spent in the rain today.

Walking along the large wall, the gates of the graveyard finally came into view... And his guard was immediately up from what he saw. It was faint to see because of the rain and the dark, but slowly drifting in place at the entrance was an inky black mist. He could barely see the other side of the stone walls through the dark shroud covering it. The Ferines swallowed, a sense of unease threatening his progress. His violet eres quietly flaring to life around his fingertips, he cautiously stepped through the mist and into the graveyard.

Nearly instantly after walking into the area, Walter felt negative emotions covering him like a blanket. Doubt, fear, anguish… They made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He waved a glowing hand through the mist to try and disperse it, but it was of no use. The light made it fade away, but it flooded back into place the moment his hand moved away from the spot. Trying to ignore the dark emotions touching the edge of his mind, he began walking down the center path. His head turned to look around the area, eyes straining for any sign of Norma in the dark mist.

Noticing a strange shape near the back, his eyes squinted as he tried to see the unfamiliar shape. His breath became heavy as the mist's emotions weighed down on him, feeling hopelessness start to spread. He mercilessly crushed the thoughts and stepped closer. After a few more steps, the figure became clear enough that he could see them. It was a tall woman clad in a snug black dress. A long braid draped down her back from the top of her head and an elaborate mask shaded her eyes from view.

A lightening bolt shot through the Ferines as he recognized her. She was that women from his dream… At the Crystal Forest, who gently sapped the life away from Norma and pushed him away into that dark abyss. From his viewpoint in the middle of the graveyard, she was completely still, silently watching a crumpled form in front of her, like a guardian angel filled with malicious intentions. The figure was a girl in yellow, with baubles in her hair and laying before a tombstone… The rain pelted against her still body, and she didn't even twitch.

Dark spirals of light flickered into existence, twisting around Walter's arm and gathered in his palm, the ball of energy glowing brightly. A hot feeling of anger spread through him until it was all that filled his thoughts, dark mist and unhappy thoughts be damned. At that moment, everything else was pushed aside and forgotten save for that single thought of getting that women away from Norma.

A split moment after he saw his roommate's still form, the blond shot a violet blast of power towards the shadowy woman. The shape spread its glowing wings, and the blinding light disintegrated the mist around it, which didn't return like it had previously. The pale figure looked up in what seemed surprise as the blinding teriques of light streaked towards her. The light was so bright that she couldn't see the mist-free air behind it, and the thoroughly pissed-off Ferines behind it.

She vanished into black mist instantly afterward seeing it, and the teriques flew through the spot where she had stood harmlessly, the light making the dark fog spiral into nothing. It shot over Norma and collided into the outer wall with a bang. Chunks of stone and dust flew from the spot, sharp rocks bouncing off the path and into the other headstones. A few pebbles rolled harmlessly next to Norma as she lay unmoving, as if obeying the command of some higher force. Soon after the debris settled, the mist slowly faded away and vanished until only the night, thunder and rain remained.

Walter let his shoulders slump slightly, feeling winded from unleashing such a powerful attack without even thinking about it. He looked around, noticing the mist had disappeared form the graveyard completely. The negative emotions had begun to drain from his mind along with that hot rage from earlier, leaving his body shivering from the cool rain and worry filling his thoughts.

How had that women vanished into the mist? He thought to himself, brows knitting together as he frowned. No human could have done that, even the shinobi assassins he'd heard about from the mainland. Who was she...?

Suddenly, he seemed to remember what his original purpose for coming here was, and quickly turned towards the gravestone in which Norma lay before. Running past two lanes of graves, he slid to a stop near her to find out what was wrong. Kneeling next to her, he turned her limp form over in his arms, feeling the heat of a fever through her soaked clothing. Her breathing was shallow, and she whimpered quietly as he placed an icy-cold palm over her forehead.

"You're burning up…" He voiced quietly. His eyes caught onto her arm, where her sleeve had hitched up slightly and a scrap of fabric peeked out from underneath. Gently, he pulled it up and saw a wet bandage that had soaked through. He didn't have to unravel it to know it covered jagged wound, which had come from an icicle.

"Norma, what happened to you…?" He asked her in a trembling tone. Sliding an arm under her knees and her back, he picked up her soaked body and activating his teriques. Bright violet wings spread open, and a violet light was cast onto the surrounding headstones. Even in the cold rain, he felt how warm her small form was against his chest, her body faintly shivering and her eyebrows scrunched in pain. Gritting his teeth, he took off into the sky and headed in the direction of the hospital.

x x x

After Chloe had arrived telling of Norma's disappearance into the night, Elsa was worried sick over her ill acquaintance. The heavy rain pounded against the windows outside, and she felt utterly useless for not being able to help. Her lungs feeling constricted, she coughed as thunder boomed in the sky, which seemed to make the rain fall even harder.

Breathing easier after her coughing fit, she quietly walked to a table near the attendant counter, thinking that tea might settle her nerves. The frail girl poured hot water into a waiting mug and dropped a teabag into it, looking out the window as she waited for it to steep. She looked at the stairs, where she knew her father was diligently working on what they hoped would one day become the cure to her disease.

A few minutes passed by, then she tossed the teabag and spooned in some sugar, stirring it quickly. Thunder rolled by again, and she placed the spoon on the table right when a loud and very insistent banging on the front door made her jump out of her thoughts. "I'm coming!" She called to the door. Trotting over to it, she swung it open quickly and gasped at what she saw.

A completely drenched man stood in front of her, blond hair dripping into his weary face. His black and red clothing was soaked and clung to his torso, his cloak hanging like a wet towel around his shoulders. What truly surprised her was the limp form of Norma he cradled in his arms, just as wet as he was. Tired blue eyes trained on her, he spoke, "My friend needs help, do you have a doctor?"

"Norma!" Elsa gasped in shock, then quickly ushered the two in, closing the door behind them and once again locking out the storm. "Wait here, I'll go get my father." The girl ran to the stairs and called, "Father! Someone's brought Norma back, come quick!"

A few seconds later, footsteps quickly walked out from an upstairs room and her father Arnold came down the stairs. Eyes locking onto Norma's limp form, he immediately made a beeline towards her and placed a hand against her forehead. "Where did you find her?" He asked, continuing his look-over of her.

"She was in the graveyard. I don't know how long she's been there before I found her." The blond man spoke, his breath halted slightly as if he had run the entire way here. He was also shivering nearly as much as Norma was, which made Elsa wonder how long he had been out in the rain that night. He didn't seem like he had just run into Norma, but had also been actively searching for her.

Alcott finished his quick assessment of her and replied, "Thank you for finding Norma then. You got her here in time." He said graciously, though a clear note of worry rang in his tone. "Let's take her upstairs."

The blond man nodded, and the three hiked up the stairs into one of the spare rooms.

x x x

Leaning against the opposite wall of the rooms with his cloak hanging on a nearby coat-hook, Walter had a sense that he was dripping water all over the carpet, but didn't particularly care. At the moment, the thought of whether or not Norma was going to be alright had precedence in his thoughts. "That idiot…" He muttered under his breath, his crossed arms tightening slightly.

Why hadn't Chloe done as he asked? Or did she try to stop her and failed? Either way, the knight had proved herself unreliable in some way or another and Norma had gotten hurt anyway. He tried making sure she would be safe while staying away from directly preventing her from going, and it didn't work. He had failed in that aspect, and the first circumstance of his dream had ended up coming true, whether he liked it or not. Who knows how long it would be before the second part did as well.

Just the thought of Norma… Of her bright cheerful self being extinguished. Alone. In the depths of some cavernous crystal forest, surrounded by despairing black mist… His fingers dug into his arm, and a bead of water dripped from his bangs onto his face. He couldn't stand the thought of it ever happening. She didn't deserve it. He'd die before he would let that happen.

The drop of water slid down his cheek and hung on the edge of his chin until gravity made it drop onto his chest. The wet spot faded into the soaked fabric until it disappeared. He sighed, shoulders relaxing into a slump from their constant tense posture. Standing around and moping wasn't going to solve anything, he told himself, fighting the cold shivers that rolled up his arms. Standing in soaking-wet clothing didn't help either, though at least he was out of the rain.

Walter heard soft footsteps approaching, and he lifted his head to lock eyes with the young frail girl from earlier. She didn't look much older then thirteen, and she held two steaming mugs, with one held out to him. "I thought you might be a little cold, so I made you some tea." She held it a little closer with a small smile on her face. "I hope you don't mind if it has a little sugar in it."

The blond graciously took it, "Thanks." Elsa tilted her head at him ever so slightly. Continuing to feel her quiet gaze on him, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her. "…Yes?"

She blushed slightly and said, "Oh, sorry! I just… Well, I haven't seen you around Werites Beacon, and I was wondering who you were."

Walter let a slight smile escape, inwardly hoping that he wouldn't have another fan besides Travis and his two friends. He didn't make for a very good role model, what with his previous bitter attitude towards the Orerines. Though at the moment, he didn't much care if anyone knew his name or face, and he doubted this girl would know much about him. "My name's Walter. I'm on personal business here, so… I really don't know how long I'm going to stick around." He replied truthfully, he didn't know how long he would stay if he succeeded in saving Norma.

Sipping his tea, he watched as she visibly wilted. "That's too bad… We like having new people here, my father and I, though there seem to be a lot more people coming here then there used to be. Oh, I never introduced myself, did I?" Walter shook his head. "Sorry, my name is Elsa Alcott. I live here with my father, Arnold Alcott. He's the new doctor here, so he'll make sure that Norma is alright. …Which reminds me, how do you know Norma?"

He nearly laughed at the quick changes in subject the girl had, and answered, "Well, for one, I'm her roommate, and I guess I'm also friends with her. …Please don't tell her friends I'm rooming with her, by the way." He tacked on the last part quickly.

Elsa tilted her head slightly, "Why not? Do they not like you very much?"

Walter looked aside, "Well… Sort of. Senel and I don't exactly see eye-to-eye." Not to mention you hate him, the Ferines told himself as he watched the younger girl nod and sip her tea.

"Don't worry, I won't tell…" Elsa answered, giving him a small smile.

The Ferines returned her smile when he heard the door unlocking in front of them. He turned his head towards it just as Alcott opened the door. Stepping through the doorway, he quietly shut it behind him. "Well, how is she?" He couldn't help but ask, hopes riding on good news.

Alcott exhaled, as if to breathe out all of his tension in one go. "Well, she's stable again. The rainstorm had made her fever and pain flare up pretty badly, but an antidote cured her of it for the moment. It might not have worked so well a few hours from now, so it was a good thing you brought her to us when you did."

"She was poisoned?" Walter asked, feeling a bit of color drain from his face. If she had been poisoned, then… What would have happened if he hadn't found her?

Alcott nodded, "She was, but the symptoms stay for a while afterwards. She'll need bedrest for a few days to a week, but she'll recover just fine." Walter exhaled a sigh of relief. The doctor on the other hand, felt like he's seen him before. With his blue eyes and blond hair, he looked like one of the Ferines that participated in the battle against Vaclav. "…I'm sorry, I never quite caught your name, young man." He said to the blond, who turned to look at him.

"My name's Walter." He didn't hear an immediate response, and looked up to see the older man gazing at him, his expression serious.

"…So you're the one that Senel spoke about earlier this week." The blond stiffened, and Alcott nodded, "I thought so. I remembered the commander of the Ferines forces in the battle of the Bridge Plain also had platinum-blond hair that covered one of his eyes, so it was a bit obvious." Elsa looked from her father to Walter in confusion, sensing growing tension in the air. "So what are you doing here in Werites Beacon?"

"If you think that I'm here to cause trouble, you're mistaken." Walter quickly started, preventing Alcott from saying any more. "I'm simply here on business, and when that's over and done with, I'll leave soon afterwards." The blond said evenly, though he felt downtrodden that even here, someone would find out about him and probably tell Senel about his presence with Norma. She was injured already, she didn't need more trouble in her life at the moment. Neither did he.

Alcott looked behind him for a moment, then back to the Ferines, "You said that Norma is your friend?" The blond nodded, and Alcott frowned, "She probably wouldn't like it very much if you were to just leave, you know."

"Wait, what?" Walter blurted for a moment, confused.

"You heard what I said, Walter. Even after hearing all of the rumors about your arrogance and radical views during the war and what happened afterwards... I see none of that now. You seem pretty mellow, actually. You don't seem like such a bad person, so why are you in such a rush to leave?" He asked, his eyebrows raised at the blond in front of him.

He was silent for a moment, then looked aside to gaze through a window at the dark rain that continued to fall outside. "It's not that I want to leave, I like it here. Sure it's chaotic and fast-paced compared to the Village of the Ferines, but at the same time I don't mind it. It's just…" He looked away from the window, looking towards the door behind Alcott and then back to him. "I'm a Ferines. I don't belong here. And given how much of an ass I was in the past, it doesn't make me a very popular person to have here anyway. I doubt someone would want a neighbor who's tried to kill them."

"What about Shirley though?" Elsa spoke up, knowing enough about Shirley in that she too was a Ferines who decided to live in Werites Beacon.

Walter shook his head. "That's different. Shirley is an ambassador, it makes sense that she would stay here. And given how much time she spends with her friends, it's not surprising that she wants to stay here so she can see them more often."

"And you're no different?" Alcott asked.

Walter opened his mouth to automatically respond 'I have no friends here', but paused. Could he really still say that? Sure he could state he had no one here who cared enough to call him that, but what would that make Norma? And Shirley, Jay, Moses? All of the people he's met here that actually give a damn about his presence, that actually want him around. They don't count as friends…?

The blond was silent through his internal argument, and Alcott took advantage of the pause to look at the clock. "It's getting late. I need to go find Senel and the others and tell them Norma's safe at the hospital." He gave a smile at Walter, who edged out of his thoughts to look at him. "And that a stranger was kind enough to have found her and brought her here. I didn't catch their name." Nodding to the two, he walked down the stairs, and the sound of a door opening and closing echoed up the stairs.

Walter let out a heavy sigh, and ran a hand through his hair. Elsa's father gave a good argument, though he didn't know if Norma's friends just put up with him or actually appreciated him being around. If they counted as friends. Even then, who knew how long it would be before a few hateful Orerines decided they've had enough with the Ferines on the Legacy. He was getting a headache thinking about it.

Elsa looked up at the worn man and smiled, "You look tired. Norma will be here in the morning, so you should go get some sleep."

Looking towards Norma's room, then back to her, he slowly nodded. Thoughts rolling around in his head, he out his empty mug on the counter downstairs, and walked back out into the rainstorm.

x x x

Early the next morning, the huge thunderhead that had poured rain over Werites Beacon had eventually moved on. Rain turned into a light sprinkle and then stopping completely. Water dripped from the leaves of nearby trees, puddles of water forming on the ground in low spots. The streets were wet as little rivers of water ran along them and into the canals, tingeing the normally crystal-clear water of Lumen Spring with the dirty runoff.

As the sun just began to rise over the horizon, a figure slowly opened her eyes to stare at an unfamiliar ceiling. Sitting up slightly, she looked around before realizing, "I'm in the Hospital." Looking at her arm, she noticed the wound had been re-bandaged, and her cleaned and dry clothing sat folded on a chair near the window. Looking down at the stark white gown, her eyebrows furrowed together. That's right, she had left to go visit Sven after…

Norma suddenly remembered all of yesterday's events. She and the Fun Bunch had gone to the Ice Monument to search for the Everlight, she had been so sure it was there! And she was stupid and got herself stabbed and poisoned. She had messed up again, what else was new? The girl groaned and held her head in her hands. "Dang it…"

It was hopeless. Sure she could get better and search again, but what use would that be? She would still keep messing up, risking the lives of her friends and herself in trying to find the Everlight. All of this searching, all of this research and time spent learning Relares, and where did it get her? What did it give her? Nothing.

She had searched for the Everlight, searched until her mind was fuzzy from too little sleep while studying. Until she got injured from exploring countless places. Until ancient Relares symbols strayed across her vision whenever she closed her eyes. And what did all of that work, the time and effort learning Relares, and everything else that drove her towards finding that ancient relic, and what did that give her?

Nothing! She had gotten nothing at all in return for her efforts! It wasn't that she couldn't continue, it was that after countless hours, days, months of researching and locating clues of it's location, she hadn't found a single trace of it existence.

Frustrated tears began falling down her face as her shoulders shook. "But…" If she gave up… how could she ever see a memory of her master again without seeing his disappointed face? How could she give up on her master's dream? If she gave up on it, then there would be no one else to continue the hunt for the Everlight. If she gave up on her dream, who was she to even speak about Sven?

Zamaran would have the last laugh in this, spitting on her master's dream like it was some fantasy. Another fairy tale that would never become real, with no trace of truth to it. There'd be no one to prove him wrong, to prove that her master was right! That the Everlight was real!

Her head whipping up, she tried to remember her research, what the list of places were that she had searched and thought it could have been. All of her research led to one place, she could see that now. The Crystal Forest: the last place her master had gone before he disappeared. If there was a single place it could have been, that was it.

Norma brought her head up to look straight in front of her, thoughts and Relares spinning around in her thoughts. This was it. She would search this last place from top to bottom. Every dark corner, every shining tree. She would look for the Everlight one last time, this last time, where her teacher had gone missing in his search for it. If it wasn't there… then it truly was a myth. "Master Sven, I'll look this time. Just one more time… I swear on my life I'll succeed. I promise."

Her eyes hard with stubbornness and a clear goal in front of her, she clothed herself before leaving the Hospital, ignoring any complaints that Elsa, Chloe and the others might have given her. She would not give the group any trouble this time, she could search by herself. She didn't want to inconvenience them yet again, or anyone else. As the girl stepped out of the city and into the nearby duct to teleport to the forest, she gave a silent apology to her friends, "I'm sorry, guys. I'm sorry about how much I messed up and put you in danger. I'm sorry I never paid you all back for the stuff I borrowed. I'm sorry I forced you to search for the Everlight with me and end up getting hurt. I'm sorry I got injured in the Ice Monument. And…"

With one last thought on her mind to her roommate and newest friend, she said, "Wally, I'm sorry I can't help you out anymore, and that I never said goodbye."

The duct glowed for a moment inside, and when the light faded, Norma was gone.

x x x

Two chapters left in the story now (excluding epilogue)! …I feel sad now.

Reviewer Responses

Shiroi Iyasu: I have to admit, I can go a little heavy on drama and angst at times, though I hope I didn't apply as much as in chapter 14... And you would be right about that last part, Norma & Friends did go to the Ice Monument, despite Chloe's subtle attempts to stop her. Sad that it didn't work, but... Well, on goes the story.