Sorry this chapter took so long, I was occupied by some stuff. Also, I'd like to give a word of thanks to all who reviewed or have been following the story.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

~ Delivery ~

Fading smudges of yellows and oranges linger on in the vast darkening sky above. The moon, having just risen from the eastern horizon floats slowly higher. In this dim light of dusk, a red haired youth treads through a darkening patch of trees. The air was still and carried the sound of chirping crickets and roaming rodents. Though the red head enjoyed the calm weather and sunset, it made him contrast the tranquility and warmth with a colder place he is far more familiar with. He remembered the cold that numbed painful thoughts and memories and the way that it enraptured him as a child. A precious memory then filled his mind.

As he reminisced his past, a loud sound in the bushes causes him to snap back to the present and stop in his tracks. The insignificant light that remained illuminates a cloaked silhouette dashing quickly through the trees, apparently not taking notice of him. He turns to follow it, a hunch of its destination forming in his mind.

...

The moon now hangs higher in the sky. The clouds float by, basking in her silver rays as the gentle evening air, soft and warm flows into a bedroom occupied by a slender, golden haired girl. Several furry creatures playfully interact with each other around her on the bed as she sits browsing through some photos. A small bell tinkles as a small kitten in her arms touched it with its paw.

Lux turns from the small stack of photos she was browsing through to the small, curious creature and giggles. She gently strokes the sweet little thing and smiles before setting it down next to her and returning to the papers she had been browsing through. As her eyes fell on the photos on the pages, her smile once again fades. The small kitten that had been interested in the bell around her neck meows, trying to call her from the images again. As if to aid the small kitten, a knock on the door sounds but Lux's eyes remain glued to the photos in her hands.

Kai enters and leans on the adjacent wall, glancing at his animal housemates before resting his eyes on the golden haired girl they surrounded. He takes notice of the stack of photos in her hands and then turns his attention back to her. "You're still looking through those?"

Lux nods in reply as she allows the kitten from before back into her arms. She resumes looking through the photos she had asked Kenny to print out for her. "Its just…I feel as if the girl in these pictures…is me."

"Why's that?"

"I don't know…I just… feel it." Lux replies, looking up from the photos on the page. "And those people in the photo with her…they look familiar…like with Tala."

She places the papers down next to her and wraps her arms gently around the small creature she held. For a while only the sounds of playful interaction between their pets could be heard. Then, Lux spoke.

"Kai?"

Kai replies tacitly.

"If it is me…in these photos…do you think those people...will ever forgive me?" she asks as a teardrop forms. She holds the silently observing kitten in her arms a little closer to her. "They seem to love...the little girl so much…but if I'm that little girl…won't they be sad? I can't remember who any of them are…"

Kai approaches the girl in quiet steps and stretches out a hand to wipe away the teardrop that has started to trickle down her cheeks. She looks up at him.

"If that girl in the picture is you, I don't think the people with her in those photos has ever blamed you and probably never will if its for not remembering them." he assures her.

"But-"

"In those photos," Kai cuts her off. "You look like you loved them just as much as they loved you. They'd probably want you to live out a happy life."

"Really?"

Kai answers her with a nod. A soft meow follows his answer as if to agree with him. The two turn to the small furball in Lux's arms. It reaches up to the bell Lux wore around her neck and a soft tinkle sounds causing another giggle to escape from Lux. Kai watches the two and smile.

She turns back to Kai. "Kai?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think I'll ever remember who they are?"

Kai nods. The encouragement causes Lux's cheeks to become slightly red as she turns back to the kitten and smiles.

Just then, a loud noise that seems to be caused by the breaking of a brittle object fills the halls and catches the attention of the two. Silence followed as they tried to listen for more sounds. Kai noiselessly makes his way to the door and creaks it open just a small bit to check the hall. Lux gets up, sets the small kitten down and makes her way to him.

"Should we go see?" she asks him.

"No, stay here." Kai tells her. He opens the door and takes a step out then stops. He remembers the way someone had came in through the window and slipped a disk into Lux's hands while he went for a glass of water. He turns back to her. "On second thought, come with me."

She nods, a little dazed by his sudden change of mind, but follows him out of the room anyway, leaving the small creatures behind. The kitten that had been in Lux's arms watches them disappear off and then turns to the pictures that were laying on the bed sheets as the other furry creatures resumed playing. It examines them for a moment with its curious golden eyes before growling inimically at them as if they have upset someone it cares about deeply.

A red haired youth in white and orange attire stood next to a broken vase in the hallway with an envelope in his hand as fast footsteps approached him. He turns at the sound of the incoming footsteps to meet two other youths, a two toned haired boy and a golden haired girl. Again, the red haired youth's expression turns a bit melancholic. He diverges his gaze from the golden haired girl.

"Tala?" Lux exclaims. Tala turns to face elsewhere causing her to look at him strangely.

Kai looks around and then turns back to his old teammate. "Why are you here Tala?"

"I was taking a walk and I saw a cloaked figure run by in a hurry so I followed him." Tala explains. "I had a hunch he or she was coming here and it turns out I was right."

Tala holds out the envelope he was holding. "Whoever it was came here to leave you this it seems."

Kai takes it and begins to open it.

"Oh and the vase wasn't my fault." Tala adds. He turns to go but is stopped by a light tug on his sleeve.

"Tala?" a soft voice calls. "Is something the matter?"

"No." he answers without looking at her.

Lux lets go of Tala's sleeve and watches as he leaves. She turns back to Kai, still a little worried about him, but shrugs it off.

"What is it?" she asks him. She pokes her head a little closer to see. "Is it from the same person as before?"

"No, I don't think so." he replies "The hand writing is different."

...

A large cloud floats in front of the silver mistress of the night, obscuring her from view and darkening a spot below it. The trees rustle as the wind blew through them. A large door creeks open and a cloaked figure steps into the dark space. Snoring, game noises and sounds of page turning could be heard. Four pairs of iridescent eyes glowing through the darkness greets this cloaked messenger.

"How did it go?" asks a childlike, male voice from where the gaming noises originate.

"It's delivered." came the reply.

"Good," the august voice then he calls out to the one snoring. "Kull, wake up."

The snoring stops and is replaced by some inaudible mutters. A loud yawn sounds and is followed by a childish female voice. "Yes?"

"You will be our representative the night after tomorrow." the stately voice announces.

"Alright!" she cries, jumping off the wooden crates she had been sleeping on with delight.

...

As her joyous sounds filled the unlit space shared by her and her companions, elsewhere, in a snowy, twilight realm, a lone figure clad in black attire infiltrates a behemoth under ice. He enters through a jagged opening and lands almost soundless on the dimly lit floor. He takes notice of the crimson stained bodies nearby and exits the room to the unlit hallways of the wrecked behemoth. He treads through the darkness steadily, avoiding any corpses that laid in his way and eventually reaches a locked door. Checking and confirming that the computerized system that guarded the room was down, he kicked the door open instead and entered. He turns the lights on manually and scans the room. On a table in the far side of the room laid some objects. He takes careful steps towards them and picks one of the objects up. After examining them, he packs them all into a sack and turns to go. Once outside, he takes one more glace at the ice covered beast and hiked away steadily.