Falling Away

~x~

Author's Note: For the first time ever in this story, we're gonna have it from Lucia-3rd-person POV! Not for very long, but…just accept it! Baha, get ready! x3
Hmm…I really just don't know if I'm happy with how this chapter turned out. D: I don't normally ask for reviews, but…well, can you guys just tell me what you think of how I pulled this off? Sorry…

Disclaimer: Again, I know no character. I mean, read my messages with Schyra and think differently, but we really don't. I promise.

~x~

Chapter Nine: The End?!

Intoxicating. It was one of the few words that were able to describe Elie, Lucia had come to realize. Everything from her laugh – something he had heard once, but had branded into memory – to the way her tears shone when they fell from the black orbs that should have been where those beautiful brown eyes were.

He may have taken her for incredibly twisted reasons, but even someone like him had to step back and admire this girl. She had never once, not in the nine months he had her, had she ever begged for death. Begged to be freed, begged for him to stop, to leave, but never death.

Lucia took the time to remember that every time he witnessed Haru Glory training, despite what he was currently doing. His friends were not aware, but he had watched every second of his training with Shiba, the First Rave Master. He was still not up to par with his own strength, thanks to his Sinclairs.

It didn't matter how hard he trained – Elie was his. If Haru Glory successfully got her location and stole her away, he'd come and take her. Nothing would stop him. She was his.

He whispered this into her ear, enjoying the sensation as shivers went down her body. "Haru Glory was a fool not to make you his, my love." Elie shook her head, splattering tears onto his cheek. Laughing, Lucia wiped it away, staring into what should have been two large, black orbs.

At the same time he realized this, Elie realized it. "I can…see?" she asked softly, blinking repeatedly. Lucia gasped, stepping away slightly. "Does this mean…?" Understanding washed through her, and her mouth popped open. Lucia gnashed his teeth, grabbing her cheeks and pulling himself closer.

"This changes nothing," he hissed, turning to leave. Elie gave a small sigh of relief, and in his anger, Lucia turned around and punched her in the stomach as hard as he could. The young girl blanched, and immediately started coughing. The blond resisted the urge to continue punching her – she'd die if he went too hard on her. "You are mine, Elie."

She nodded, coughing violently. "I…belong to…you," she muttered, allowing herself to hang limp. Lucia laughed, grabbing her chin and kissing her roughly once. With a laugh, he left her, going to find the traitorous woman in order to kill her.

* * *

It was hard to believe that the whole nine months had been spent in such a pretty cave. Elie felt tears falling from her eyes, whether it was from the punch or the fact that finally she could see. Once she was positive that Lucia was long gone, she turned and stared at the entrance to the cave determinedly. "Haru!" she screamed, coughing again.

With even the slightest movement pain shot up her body. "Haru…please…don't come," she whispered, coughing again. The pain started to overwhelm her, threatening to take control, and for the first time, Elie allowed herself to be taken over. The pain grabbed onto her, and her eyes closed slowly, eliminating the new light.

* * *

Haru was running faster than he had ever run in his life, even with the help of Silfarion. It had been decided that he would run ahead, and that the others would try and head off Berial, Haja, and Lucia if he realized they knew. He reached the mountain and didn't stop – Elie was right there. "Elie!" he screamed, pumping his legs faster. He needed to reach her. He needed to save her, finally.

When he was about twenty feet away from the entrance, he paused. What if Reina had been lying, to him, to Musica, just to make a fool of him? What if Lucia had lied and had already taken her away? Slowly, with Raveld back to the original form, he stepped forward and into the bright cave.

Just like his vision, there was a very skinny, very pale girl chained to the wall. Unlike his vision, there were no black orbs, but actual eyes, though they were closed. She had cuts up and down her arms, with dark purple bruises decorating her frail body, and it looked like her breath was labored. Her hair fell around her face unevenly, and a shade darker than it had been the last time he had seen it.

"Elie…"

At the sound of her name, Elie's eyes fluttered open, and automatically started darting around the room as though she had never seen it before. Finally, her eyes reached Haru, and automatically, she flinched against the wall, closing her eyes. Haru's sword dropped to the ground; it really was her.

Elie opened her eyes at the noise, staring at Haru. "Har…ru?" she said slowly, leaning forward. As if the motion caused her pain, she flinched, biting down on her bottom lip. Immediately, Haru grabbed his sword and rushed forward, tears stinging in his eyes.

"Don't you worry, Elie, I'll get you out. And then, we'll take you to the best hospital we can find. And I promise you; I won't ever leave your side. Not until you're one hundred better again," he said, carefully lifting the chain and setting to work. Elie flinched as her ankle was moved, but she kept quiet. "We've all missed you, you know. Sieg actually cried when he told me what happened…and you know what? I've got loads to tell you! You probably won't believe it, but –"

He was cut off by the chains suddenly giving in, sending Elie flying forward. She gasped, closing her eyes in preparation for impact. With his new reflexes, Haru moved over and caught her, falling back in the process. A small sound of static filled the room, and Elie screamed, closing her eyes and clutching onto Haru's shirt.

"Elie! It's me!" a woman cried, her voice projecting into the room. She did not stop cowering, and the woman sighed. "Haru, it's all up to you! Sieg and Julia are fighting Haja, and Let and Musica are fighting Berial – I don't know how long I can stay hidden, so best of luck!" Reina cried, switching off.

Elie shook her head, tears falling from her eyes. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry! Please…please, no more!" she muttered, gripping onto Haru's shirt even tighter. Haru frowned, pulling himself into a sitting position and grabbing her shoulders. She flinched, shaking her head even harder.

"Elie, look at me. Look at me," he whispered, waiting patiently for her to lift her head. It took her several minutes, but she finally did, tears pouring from her brown eyes down her cheeks, "It's me, Haru. Haru Glory, your very best friend, since that day on the beach! Remember? For your seventeenth birthday, we went to the mainland and made that giant snowman!"

She continued to stare at him blankly, as if something else was blocking her memories of him. "I…belong to…you?" she finally said, the words falling from her mouth sideways. "No," she answered herself, shaking her head, "Lucia. I belong to him, right?"

Haru grabbed her cheeks, shaking his head, "No, you don't belong to anyone…especially not Lucia Raregroove," he told her firmly, his heart beating. What the hell had Lucia done to her to make her this way?!

"Not…Lucia?" she repeated slowly, blinking. "You?"

"No! Elie, please, snap out of it! You don't belong to anyone! Not me, not Lucia, not even Sieg! You're Elie, and you're finally free. Free from Lucia, free from whatever he told you…please, Elie, you have to believe me," Haru begged, tears falling down his cheeks now. Elie blinked, and understanding seemed to wash over her features.

She leaned into his touch, raising one shaking hand and placed it over Haru's. "Haru…" she said softly, but it was more like the way she used to say it, "Haru…is it…really you?" she asked, raising the other hand and placing it over his. Haru tried not to notice the redness around her wrists as he nodded.

"The one and only, Elie," he whispered, smiling. Tears started falling from her eyes, and without warning, she flung herself onto his chest, shaking with the force of sobs. Haru caught her, holding her as close as he could without hurting her. "Does it hurt? Anywhere?"

Unfortunately, she nodded, "Y-yeah…he…he…" she stopped, the words sticking in her throat. Haru nodded, pulling away to give her space. She looked up at him again as if she was about to say something, but whatever she was about to say was lost in the shock that suddenly appeared on her features. "H-Haru! No! You shouldn't have come!" she cried suddenly, trying to pull free from his arms.

The Rave Master had finally, for the first time in nine months, had the woman he loved in his arms. There was no chance of her ever getting free now. "Elie," he breathed, stopping her in her tracks, "I'm not letting you go. Not now, not when we leave this place, and not even when we see Sieg."

"But…but, if L-Lucia finds us…" she breathed, glancing at the cave entrance. Haru rolled his eyes, scooping her up in his arms. "Haru?!"

Haru laughed, feeling giddy. "I'll carry you down, OK? Don't you worry, soon you'll be –"

He had been about to say 'safe' but Elie's scream cut him off, and he wheeled around, clutching Elie tightly. She was staring at the person there with eyes as wide as saucers, and her shakes had increased tenfold in her fear. "L-Lucia…" she breathed, gripping onto Haru again.

"Elie…" the blond whispered, holding a thick black sword in his right hand, "who do you belong to?" Elie answered promptly with his name, much to Haru's amazement. "Exactly. So, why are you in the arms of another man?"

Elie didn't reply to that, leaving it up to Haru. "You bastard…what the hell have you done to her?!" Haru cried, tears forming in his eyes again. Lucia smirked, not answering. "Elie, stay right here, OK? I'll get you out of here as soon as I deal with him." Haru gently put her down against the wall, picking up Raveld again. She flinched against the wall, rubbing her wrists gently.

Lucia laughed, looking at Elie, "I shall deal with you once I have finished teaching this annoying Rave Master who you truly belong to, Elie," he muttered, stepping forward. Haru took a stance, but stopped when he felt Elie grab onto his leg.

"Don't…please, Haru, don't," she begged, staring up at him fearfully. Haru, after glancing at Lucia, knelt down next to her, running his hand through her – surprisingly – soft hair. She flinched slightly, but didn't break eye contact; a good sign.

Before she could pull away or Lucia could take her away, Haru leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers gently. Her lips parted in surprise, but he pulled away before he let himself get carried away. "Rest well," he told her, grabbing Raveld and standing again to face Lucia. The blonds' eyes were wide with his anger, and he was gripping his sword tightly.

"You dare to kiss my woman? My Elie?!" he screamed, lunging at him. Haru lunged forward as well, blocking the attack, much to Lucia's annoyance. "She is mine!"

Dimly, Haru heard Elie slid back against the wall, but had no time to see if she was afraid or not – Lucia was just as good with a sword as he was when they had their fist fight. "She doesn't belong to anyone!" he screamed, trying to attack his side. Lucia snorted, blocking it easily. Haru gnashed his teeth, trying to find an opening.

The two continued to fight, destroying the cave in the process. "You aren't worthy of her! I alone am worthy of Elie!" Lucia screamed, his sword clashing against Haru's. "I will prove it to you both in this battle, Haru Glory!"

Haru gasped as Lucia's slipped off his, slashing his stomach. A soft scream of pain fell from his lips, but just as he was about to fall back, Haru caught himself, breathing heavily.

"She…isn't…yours!" he gasped, gripping his sword and running forward. Caught off guard by his burst of strength, Lucia did not lift his sword until the last second, receiving a cut through his side.

The two stood like that for a little, panting through their injuries. Haru didn't know about his opponent, but Shiba had made sure that he had suffered serious injuries, just to prepare him for when he'd face Lucia. "Elie isn't yours," he whispered again, drawing out his sword. Lucia fell, clutching his wound, which was much deeper than Haru had imagined.

"Sinclair…" he whispered, and from his pocket came a steady stream of wispy smoke. Haru leaned closer in time to watch the smoke engulf the wound, and when it vanished, it took the wound with it. Haru's eyes widened in his surprise, but he didn't step back in time for Lucia to jump up and swing his sword to his right.

Haru took the wound with another soft scream, holding his wound with one hand and keeping a tight grip on his sword. Behind was a very terrified, very confused Elie. If he fell, Lucia would have her again…he had to win this battle. "Elie…I'll protect you," he muttered, charging forward again.

"How can you still stand?!" Lucia cried, blocking his shot. "Ah, I see – Shiba has given you the gift of endurance. Very well – I shall make that endurance crumble!"

Just as the two were about to lung forward, a high pitched scream erupted from behind them, causing them to cease. Haru twirled around and stared at Elie, who was gripping her head and screaming as though she was the one that had just been stabbed. "Elie?!" Haru cried, but it was lost in her own scream.

Two small bracelets that had been around her wrist suddenly shattered, and cracks began to appear in the ground. Lucia screamed something like 'magic defender?!' behind them, but Haru was too focused on trying to shield his eyes from the blinding light that was emitting from Elie's body.

"Stop it!!! I don't!!!" she screamed, tears falling from her eyes again. "I don't belong to anyone!" once the words left her mouth, the light suddenly went back to her, shooting straight up into the sky, breaking through the cave as though it was a cloud. Haru swore, and Lucia dropped his sword. Elie didn't seem to be in control of her body any longer, but her scream continued to erupt from her mouth, along with the blinding light. The cave they were in was slowly beginning to fall apart; cracks had appeared over nearly every square inch.

"Etherion…it's supposed to be sealed!" Haru realized, whipping around to stare at Lucia, who looked just as shocked as he was. "Elie! Elie, you have to listen to me! You can control this! Elie!" he screamed, turning back to Elie.

Slowly, her eyes cracked open, the scream cutting short from her mouth. Unfortunately, Etherion was still erupting from her body, spreading slightly. She mouthed something to him, or maybe she was just repeating his words, for something clicked in her mind. She closed her eyes again tightly, and her fist shakily clenched.

Just as suddenly as it started, the Etherion vanished, leaving a ringing silence behind it. This was short lived, however, as Elie stepped forward, lifting one arm and pointing at Lucia with her palm, "You're right…I can," she breathed, jerking her other arm towards Lucia, who screamed just as the light started to shine. "I'm not yours!"

Haru closed his eyes, diving to the ground and holding his neck – Lucia and Elie's scream echoing in his ears painfully. The light danced behind his eyelids dangerously, and it took him several seconds after silence settled over to open his eyes. Elie had fallen to the ground, a large dent in the ground from her feet to the entrance to the cave, cracks and fissures still decorating the place. Lucia was nowhere to be seen, and Haru had the sinking feeling that Elie had…had killed him.

"Elie?" he breathed, stepping forward. She didn't reply, and as he got closer, he realized that she was not moving – not even to breathe. "Elie! God, no!" Haru swore, kneeling next to her and lifting her head slowly. Above his trembling fingers, and past his own beating heart, he felt a very small, very slight pulse in the back of her neck.

Screams echoed from outside, and within seconds, four sets of footsteps sounded, but Haru didn't bother to look at who it could be – he already knew anyways. "What the…E-Elie!" In a flash, Sieg Hart was next to Haru, staring down at Elie fearfully. "God, Haru, is she…?"

"I can feel a pulse. It's weak, but it's there," he answered dully, staring down at her. For what appeared to be the first time in months, she looked slightly peaceful – if her eyes were not so sunken into her face, and bruises did not litter her face, she would have passed for sleeping. "Seal her. Sieg, seal Etherion. Now."

Julia gasped, kneeling next to them with Musica and Let. Haru looked up now, frowning deeply – every one was injured in some way, Sieg and Let the most. "Seal…Etherion?! Is that what that giant blast was?!"

Haru nodded, turning back to Sieg. "I'll explain later. Just seal her so we can take her to a hospital without worrying that something like that'll happen again!" he demanded, clenching his fist under her neck. Her pulse seemed to be getting weaker as the seconds passed – who knew how much longer she had before something worse happened?!

"Let's take her to a hospital first – we can seal her as soon as we're sure she's breathing," Sieg suggested, shaking his head. "The first time she was sealed…well, let's just say that the world lost one of the best Mages in history. We risk losing her if we perform the sealing at the moment." Let nodded, placing a hand on Haru's shoulders.

Silence settled over as he digested this. "Haru," Musica said firmly, staring him right in the eye, "she'll live. As long as she's unconscious, Etherion should cool it. We can take her the nearest hospital – for all of us – and then we'll seal her." Haru stared between his friends, finally noticing the true extent of their injuries, and nodded slowly. "I'll carry –"

"I'll carry her," Haru interrupted, gently lifting her. Sieg gasped as blood started to pour more heavily from his wounds. Before any of them could dissuade him, he shook his head, "What Elie's gone through these past nine months…what she's going through…this isn't anything."

* * *

Dark. That's all Elie could see, and she had to wonder if she had died. She remembered Haru saying that she could control the magic pouring from her body. She remembered answering him, saying something to him, and then to Lucia. She remembered the look on Lucia's face as the Etherion engulfed him, and his scream of agony as his precious Darkbrings were shattered and his body decimated.

God, she had killed him. She, Elie, had just killed a man. She had just killed a man – maybe even two, if she lost control of Etherion and it got Haru too, and she was in the dark. Again. And this time, she couldn't even open her eyes to make sure that she was even alive.

Voices occasionally floated into her mind, whispers of their voices. Most of the time it was a girl, a girl who talked constantly. When it wasn't the girl, it was a different mix of all of the voices Elie had missed – Sieg, Julia, Musica, Let, and…Haru.

Haru, who fought for her, who got stabbed because he was protecting her. That was when she lost control, when the real pain began. Elie had received hits, punches, kicks, and the occasional slash from a sword every day since Lucia began to visit her, but none of that could compare to the pain she had felt when she lost control.

It was like lava was pumping from her heart instead of blood; like something deep inside in her body was turning, pouring more lava into her system. A deep, rumbling voice in the back of her told her what was happening – the seal had finally broken. It should have broken a long time ago, maybe when Lucia first started to visit her, but he had stopped it by tripling her seal. When all of that broke, the Etherion had begun to pour from her body at an uncontrollable rate.

Haru's words must have been what had began to get a grip on it. Something, his voice she guessed, had suddenly empowered her – made it possible to grasp onto the power and direct it somewhere else.

And kill Lucia.

"Elie…the nurses said that you can hear when people talk to you, so, I guess I wanted to give it a try. You nearly destroyed Garage Island, did you know that? I mean, even the people down in town saw what you did – Cattleya said she could even hear you. But, you know what? None of em' were angry at you! Sieg explained, leaving out a lot of details, what happened and they were just like 'oh…OK!"

Elie wanted to laugh with him, to joke about how she was going to face the people at school – how she would face Sieg! But something was blocking her, making speech, vision, and movement impossible.

"It's been a month since I found you…all of us have recovered – even you have. Julia and this nurse, Belnika, cut your hair so it's even; you can cut it again if you want when you wake up. Musica's got this wicked scar on his chest – looks like someone took an X shaped knife and just…pierced him! I got a bunch of scars too, but none of em' are cooler than that."

Again, Elie wanted to laugh. She wanted to listen more closely to his story, but she couldn't. This is really getting annoying.

"God, Elie, I missed seeing you. Do you remember when I found you in the cave? Lucia had you brainwashed or somethin'! Oh, by the way…no one can find Lucia. Sieg even tried to track the Sinclairs, but…nothing. Etherion destroyed all traces of him, I guess. I know that might not sound very good to you, but just think of it this way – it wasn't you. It was Etherion."

Elie had never even thought of it that way. It was Etherion that killed Lucia…not her. Her hands were still bloody, but it would appear as though some of it washed off. The haze around her seemed to lighten, though still not enough to do anything.

Will I ever be free…?

* * *

It was pitiful, seeing Elie just lying there like that. The color had returned to her skin, and the bruises had all vanished, but he was still worried – one month, and no sign of waking up. Haru had, true to his word, stayed by her side the entire time. For the sponge baths came, he stayed right there in the chair, waiting for her to come back. The only time he left was when Cattleya came and brought him a change of clothes for the day, and he went to shower.

It had been a nurse who had become friends with them all that had him sitting here, talking to her. "If you two truly have an inseparable bond, try talking to her. Even if she doesn't wake up, she'll hear you at the very least," she had said kindly, all smiles. Haru had nodded, and waited patiently for her to leave before he began – this would most likely get personal.

"There's something I've wanted to tell you for a really long time…longer than Lucia had you chained to that damned wall even. But, I want to see your expression when you hear it, so I'm not saying it until you wake up. That'll be our deal – you wake up and I tell you," he said then, laughing.

He talked for a while longer, telling her about Shiba, and even introducing Plue, who hadn't left his side since he had appeared next to him on the way down to the town. "Pu-pun?" he asked now, sitting on the bed next to Elie's waist. Haru paused in his talking to glance at the strange creature. The dog was pointing at Elie's eyes, and Haru turned slowly to see what he was staring at.

Slowly, very slowly, her head was moving, and her eyes had tightened. A soft groan was escaping from her lips, and Haru felt his heart race at the sound of it, "Elie…?" he whispered, jumping from the plastic chair to get closer. Just like in the cave, she reacted immediately to the sound of her name; eyes snapping open and darting around curiously.

"Where…am I?" Elie groaned softly, blinking against the light. Haru smiled, his hand finding hers and squeezing it gently. Instinctively, Elie flinched, her hand trying to pull free from his, though he did not slacken his grip. Her eyes found her hand, and then trailed up his arm and landing on his eyes, "Haru?" she whispered in disbelief

"I'm right here, Elie," he whispered, smiling wider. "Elie, what can you remember?" He hated to ask, to make her relive it all, but he had to. He needed to know if she remembered Etherion, what Lucia had told her.

He needed to know if she still believed that Lucia owned her. "I…remember the light…and you. You got stabbed…by Lucia," she said slowly, frowning deeply. "He…he kept me there…in the d-dark. For…for how long?"

"Nine months," Haru prompted, squeezing her hand.

Elie nodded slowly, "And he…he…" she tried to say, tears clouding her eyes, "You saved me?" she said, changing her words quickly. Haru nodded again, his throat tightening. "And you…you…" she said, trying to recall.

Just as she said 'you kissed me?' Haru said, 'I kissed you'.

An awkward silence settled over the two, but Haru did not look away. "Yeah, I did. And I'm not taking it back either," he whispered, laughing as her face filled with color. Just as he was about to speak, she lifted her free hand and lightly punched him.

"You should ask before you do perverted things like that, Haru," she mumbled, still blushing. Haru laughed again, shrugging. "Where is everyone anyways?"

Haru couldn't help but notice just how quickly her strength was returning now that she was out of that cave, out of Lucia's brainwashing. "Musica, Let, and Julia are all trying to reapply for some college, Cattleya's discussing our senior year with the Principal, and Sieg is working on keeping away the reporters," he explained, ticking off the names from his fingers.

"Reporters?"

The silver haired teenager nodded, "I guess word that you went missing for nine months spread to the world right after you got caught. People have been following your story the entire time, searching everywhere for you…Sieg had a real job keeping them away from Garage Island, he said. You've had like…a million letters from people who followed the story on TV, but I asked them to just burn em'. You've been through enough as it is."

Elie nodded gratefully. "Yeah, I kinda like being able to use my arms again – wouldn't want them to get all sore because I opened too many letters or anything," she said sarcastically. Haru laughed, feeling giddier than he had when he had found her. It was amazing, he decided, that the two of them could simply step right back into place after all of this…

"Elie," he said seriously, looking down, "I know this might be hard for you, but if you don't tell me everything that Lucia said…did…told you, anything, it'll only get worse." Elie silenced, and Haru noticed that her face had gone pale. "I'll keep anyone out that you don't want to tell, especially the –"

"Let, Musica, Julia, Sieg, and you. That's who needs to be here," she interrupted, shaking her head. "Haru, please…go get them. All four of them, and then I'll talk. Promise." When she said this, a smile broke out on her face.

Haru gave her a look that clearly said he wasn't going anywhere. "Sieg'll be here soon…I'll tell him to go and get the others," he said firmly. Elie sighed, leaning back against her pillows. "Can you remember what I was saying? Right before you woke up, I mean," he asked suddenly, going red. Elie stared at him, shaking her head slowly. "Oh, uh, well, I said that I had something real important to tell you…" Haru swallowed – this would've been easier to say to any other girl, but not Elie. "And that when you woke up, I'd tell you."

Elie continued to stare at him, her eyes not moving from his once, "I'm awake now," she said, smirking, "so tell me." Haru swallowed again – this really might just be the hardest thing he had ever done in his life.

"Er, right. Well, um…" he started to say, blushing even more as Elie started to laugh. "Ireallyreallylikeyou!" he blurted out, releasing her hand and jumping up. Her laughter stopped instantly, and she stared at him as he turned away to pace. "Elie, do you remember our junior year, when I asked you what kind of guy you were in to?"

The teenager took her sweet time remembering, much to Haru's annoyance. "Yeah, that was the day that we made plans to go the mainland," she recalled.

"Exactly! Well, I sorta realized that maybe…I dunno, I realized that…when I was telling Celia what sort of girl I was into, I was kinda…describing you. And it got me thinking, and…er, I guess what I'm trying to say is, um…I really like you. More," he said, turning around suddenly, "than just a best friend! I mean, I still totally like you like a best friend – because you're the best friend I've ever had – but I just…I like you more than that."

Elie stared at him blankly, as though she couldn't quite believe her ears. Haru stared back, feeling hot and stupid and rejected all at once. He stared into those brown eyes he had longed for so hard, for so long, and tried to see her thoughts. Maybe she was thinking of a good way to turn him down? To politely tell him that, after everything Lucia had done to her, she could never love. Ever.

"That's good, then," she said softly, smiling now, "because I've felt the same way about you ever since." Haru gasped, sinking into a chair shakily. She smiled, and nodding gently. "You know, the entire time I was chained to that wall," she started to say, pausing to take a deep breath, "I begged Lucia for a lot of things…freedom, to be able to see…answers as to why I was the one chained to a damn wall and not some other girl…but never, not once, did I ever beg him to kill me. Not even after…after…"

Before she could continue, Haru reached forward and did what seemed like the most natural thing in the world – he grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently, cutting her off. "Don't. They aren't here yet," he whispered, "I get it. Elie, I…I love you."

Chocolate brown stared straight into light purple, a mix of different feelings floating around the air. "I love you too, Haru," she whispered, blushing wildly. Haru grinned, sighing in relief. Elie laughed, leaning back against the pillows again, "God, I love being able to see."

"I love being able to freakin' laugh! Man, I have loads to tell you!" Haru said, and without any prompting, he launched into his story of the past ten months, still gripping her hand the entire time. Even when Sieg entered the room did he talk, not willing the foster father a chance to even hug Elie while he spoke.

~**~

"You ready?" Julia asked softly, tossing back a sheet of blond hair. Elie took a deep breath, glancing back at the crowd on the beach. "Don't look back, Elie. We gotta keep on movin' forwards," Julia said, leaning against the edge of the boat.

Everyone but Elie was on board a large ship, waiting for her to step on so they could leave. Tears were stinging in her eyes as she finally caught sight of Sieg, who was standing off to the distance, arms crossed against his chest and watching her. "One second!" she called, holding a finger. From the boat, several people groaned, but allowed her to run forward and throw her arms around him.

Sieg laughed, hugging her back gently, "Tell Haru that if he hurts you, I'll find him and kick his ass," he whispered in her ear. Elie laughed, wiping her eyes and pulling away. "Write to me if you need me, Elie." Elie nodded, turning and running back to the boat.

This time, Haru was waiting for her at the bottom, Plue atop his head, "You always did take forever sayin' goodbye to that old fart," he muttered, holding out a hand. Elie laughed, grabbing it and stepping forward. "We'll be back, you know. You don't have to say goodbye or anything."

Elie nodded again, "I know. But, you knows when we'll be back," she said, following him up the ramp to the boat. "And it isn't like I spent a lot of time with him – a year with him, ten months away, and now four months later, I'm off again."

"Elie," Musica said, throwing an arm around her when she reached the top, "you'll spend a shit load more time with him, when we get back."

The girl looked back out, dimly hearing Haru call to the captain – Shuda – to shove off. The boat was moving away at an incredibly face pace, though Elie continued to stare at the people on the beach. Musica laughed, pulling her into a sideways hug. "Aw, come on and cheer up, Elie!" Haru called from behind them.

Elie turned to Haru, nodding slowly. Without warning, she flung herself from Musica and caught herself on the railing, waving her arm wildly. "We'll be back, OK!?" she screamed to the tiny dots that were people. "I promise!" As expected, no one answered, but Haru stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Damn right we will," Musica said from behind them, lighting a cigarette. Elie laughed, grinning up at Haru cheerfully. The three stood like that for a while, watching as the island they had lived at sunk deeper and deeper into the horizon.

For Elie, this really was goodbye. If she managed to successfully protect herself, and learn to control Etherion, she wouldn't come back the same person. Though, she had already changed, so maybe it was for the better. "Whatever's comin," Haru said, interrupting her thoughts, "we can take it." Elie stared up at him, blinking in confusion – had she spoken out loud? "And if worst comes to worst, I'll make sure to protect you."

From behind them, several people scoffed, and the couple whipped around in confusion, "You think she'll need protection? Yeah, right," Julia said, leaning against the cabin. Let was next to her, arms crossed as always; Musica was where he had been before Let and Julia entered. Elie laughed, nodding happily.

"That's right! When I learn how to control Etherion, you'll really be in trouble, Haru!" she said, sticking out her tongue. Haru laughed, leaning against the railing, shrugging.

"I think I can hold my own," he muttered, crossing his arms. Elie rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips. "Either way, we still gotta take down Demon Card, don't we? Sieg said somethin' about Four Demon Lords…"

Julia and Let nodded, but Elie shrugged. "I don't care about what or how we do something, you know," she said, laughing, "As long as the five of us are together while we do it, I'll be happy!"

The others exchanged a look. "Damn right!" Julia cried, laughing.

Elie gazed between her friends for a little bit, feeling her heart swell. What she was really saying, as long as she never had to endure the never ending darkness, she'd be happy. Her eyes fell on Haru and she watched him lean over the edge and stare back out at the speck that was Garage Island. As long as I'm with these guys…I can take anything!

~x~

Author's Note: FINISHED. =D What did you guys think?! Good, bad? Delete? Keep? PLEASE REVIEW. I hate having to ask that, but I reaaaally want to know what you guys think about how I pulled this all off. (: YES, this is the final chapter, but there's going to be a smaller one added sort of as a back story.
THANKS YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE THAT READ THIS FROM THE GETGO.
Love,

E x p e r i m e n t .3137.
(: