WHAT THE HECK I GOT SIX REVIEWS! Thank you, all of you! I know six reviews seems like a tiny amount to most people, but that's a lot for me. And just as a refresher, last time Nadeshiko was killed by that giant machine.

The world had crumbled. I could do nothing but stare at the closed jaws for a few seconds, comprehending what had happened. Then I threw myself at the machine, trying to pry apart the jaws. They remained locked together, not yielding to my force.

"Nadeshiko!" I wailed. Blood dripped from my hands, staining the hair ribbon strewn on the floor a dark crimson. "Nadeshiko. . ."

I let myself cry. I had told myself minutes ago that I would not die crying. But I was alive, and instead it was Nadeshiko within those deadly jaws. I didn't care about being brave and strong anymore. So I was crying.

The door flew open, and I glanced backwards at the sight I dreaded. Ikuto, Utau, and Rima were sprinting at me, closely followed by the others. I even spotted Ran and Yoru lingering at the back of the crowd.

Ikuto dropped to his knees beside me. "Amu," he whispered. "I'm -"

"Don't apologize," I choked. "Please."

None of them would forgive me.

"What happened to you?" Utau took my bleeding arm in her hand. "You're covered in deep cuts. It's like something was trying to impale you."

"Wait," Rima said. "Didn't Nadeshiko go to find you? We tried to follow, but couldn't figure out where she'd gone. Did you see her?"

At this I broke out sobbing.

Nagihiko inhaled sharply. "What happened to my sister?"

I lifted a shaking hand to point at the machine.

"I'm sorry," I whimpered. "It's all my fault, I let her save me -"

"Amu."

I froze at the sound of Ikuto's stern voice.

"I thought you told me not to apologize just now. Don't contradict yourself."

"But this. . .she's dead! And it was for me!" I cried.

"She sacrificed herself for you?" Kairi asked quietly, stepping forward.

I nodded.

"Then live on," he commanded. "Stand up. Dry your tears."

I blinked the tears out of my eyes. "I thought you'd abandon me. . ."

"Again?" Ikuto asked. "The first time, that wasn't you, that was my emotions, my stupidity. You aren't as pitiful as you make yourself out to be. You cry, you cry a lot, but doesn't that mean that you're just all the braver? That you've endured this much, and you're still standing?"

"Nadeshiko is dead," Rima continued. "We acknowledge that, and it does hurt us, but none of us are stupid enough to blame it on you."

It was then that I saw the tears she was trying hard to conceal. The way Nagihiko was biting his lip to stop himself from crying out, Yaya's inaudible sniffling, how fast Ikuto was blinking.

Rima offered her hand. I took it, standing up shakily. The gashes running down my legs stung and I nearly collapsed.

"Hailem," Utau muttered, and the cuts slowly began to heal. "I learned that from you, you know."

"It's been so long," I said.

"Amu," Ran interrupted me. "I know this is a lot to ask from you, seeing as your. . .friend. . .just died, but we're in desperate need of your help."

I looked back at the locked machine. It was time to let Nadeshiko go.

Just then, the machine slowly opened.

I turned to see, but a hand quickly covered my face. "Don't," Utau said, voice quivering. "Don't look."

"Why?" I managed to ask.

"It's just. . .proof. That Nadeshiko is dead."

No more words were needed. I slipped away from the hand covering my eyes and knelt down, carefully avoiding the machine, to pick up Nadeshiko's ribbon. As I stood up I caught a blurry glimpse of the sight they had prevented me from seeing earlier.

It was Nadeshiko's body, or what was left of it anyway. I could see nothing but strands of violet hair and blood everywhere before Rima took my hand, pulling me out of the room.

"Here." She tied the ribbon around my wrist. "A reminder."

"Thank you," I whispered.

I fingered the little flowers adorning the tips of the ribbons and thought of Nadeshiko. For fifteen seconds I allowed myself to remember her smile, her laughter, the touch of her hands. The way she danced, the scent of her cookies, the sound of her musical voice -

"Right now, I am happy."

I told Nadeshiko goodbye then. I took a deep breath and severed the bond that tied us together. The twin souls floated apart, one dead so the other could live, the second living on for the other.

I saw Nadeshiko in my mind's eye. Our hands were interlocked, though an invisible force pulled us apart. At the same moment, we let go.

"It's Miki," Ran confessed. "I know she didn't turn you into prison - not by her own will, anyway."

"So you're saying she's possessed?" Rima questioned.

Ran nodded. "It would explain a lot - why she scheduled the mission before Amu was ready, why she couldn't explain her own decisions, all of it."

Utau frowned. "Then who's doing it?"

"I don't know," Ran said. "But if we can find Miki, she might be able to tell us."

"Why does this need my help?" I spoke up. "It sounds like this needs all of us."

"It's not your help, really," Ran admitted shyly. "You were going to head straight home, right? Get to the portal chamber and leave. But the revolution failed, and we need to get Miki. I can't do this with just me and Yoru - I don't know where our other friends are. We could get you safely to the portal chamber after we save Miki. You'd have less of a chance of getting caught if I, a personal maid for the royalty, am there. So please, we need you to make the decision to help us."

"If I choose to stay with you, we're all likely to die," I said. "But if I leave, the revolution is over, you and your friends will likely be murdered, and the king and queen will continue to rule. The choice seems obvious."

"Seems," Ran muttered. She knew what was coming.

"But Nadeshiko died so I could live. I'm not going to just throw away all that she gave me."

Ran's gaze dropped to the floor. "I know. I can't ask that from you."

"Amu, wait," Yoru murmured. His face seemed hollow and sunken, his amber eyes dull. "We can't do it without the help of you and your friends. Please."

"Amu's made her choice," Utau said firmly. "We're heading back to Earth."

"I can't give up!" Yoru's voice broke. "Do you remember Miki? Do you remember her dreams? Her wish for freedom? That was Miki, that was the girl we all loved. Not the person, the shell who handed you over to the dungeon. . .remember the real Miki!"

"We didn't know her like you," Rima reminded him. "We can't relate."

"Wait," I stopped her.

"What?" Rima turned to face me. "That was enough to sway you?"

"I see myself in him." I lowered my voice so that only Rima could hear. "Can we really leave someone like that? When I looked like that to you, did you walk away? Did you tell me that it was my fault?"

"You've changed," Rima noted. "I never know you could see other people like that. You've stopped focusing on yourself."

I glanced over at Ran and Yoru. "Let's get Miki, and then we'll talk about how we've changed and everything."

Ran smiled briefly. "Thank you."

"We're going back to the central chamber. All you have to do is make sure no one's coming. In fact, we only need about three of you," Yoru said.

Nagihiko shook his head. "We go together."

Ran nodded. "Then come on."

We followed her through the deserted hallways that she seemed to know so well. Before long, I'd lost my sense of direction completely - I had no idea how to get back where we had started.

"We're here," Yoru announced. He pushed open the doors to the central chamber. "The king and queen shouldn't be inside here." He poked his head inside the door. "All clear."

We followed him inside the chamber. I recognized the fancy furniture, mostly overturned by our battle earlier with Miki, the king, and the queen.

"Miki?" Ran asked warily. "You there? It's me, Ran."

Somebody cussed loudly - but it wasn't Miki. I stepped forward to investigate, the others on my heels.

"Who are you?" I called. "Show yourself!"

A figure stepped out of the shadows. He was tall, with vampire-pale skin and a black suit. The atmosphere around him seemed dark and evil.

He was a demon.

"Well, if it isn't Amu Hinamori and her little gang."

"Who are you?" Utau said authoritatively. "Are you a demon? And if you are, what are you doing here?"

"No need for all the accusing looks." The demon chuckled softly. "I'm not as evil as I seem."

"He has Miki!" Yoru suddenly screeched. "Behind him!"

"What -" I began, but Yoru had already thrown himself at the demon. He raised his arms in defense, but Yoru ducked to the side at the last minute, weaving around him with the agility of a cat. Just as he got behind the demon, I caught on and sprinted forward. "Poruca!"

The explosion was right on target. The demon stumbled backwards, caught off guard for just a split second. That was more than enough time for Rima, Utau, and Ikuto to encircle him, casting spells that all hit him directly. He choked and cried out, dropping to the floor. I leaped into the air and threw my sword at him like it was a spear. "Metal, dance to my command! Nevi!"

A glowing net flew from my sword seconds before it impaled the demon. The sword froze in midair, and the net secured itself around the demon. He was trapped.

Yaya, Nagihiko, Tadase, Kukai, and Kairi blinked at us, awestruck.

"What was that. . .?" Nagihiko asked faintly.

"I don't know," Utau said. "We just thought fast."

"This is your real power." Tadase smiled. "The strongest people we have, all united for a few seconds, can do so much."

"Don't give us an inspirational speech," Rima scolded. "Yoru, did you get Miki?"

"Get over here," Yoru said, voice laced with desperation. "Miki's not waking up."

I froze. Would another of my friends die today?

"Miki!" Ran whimpered. "What's wrong?" She shook her sister's shoulders, but she remained limp.

"She's alive," Yoru said shakily. "But she's not waking up."

"Give her some time," Utau instructed. "She'll be fine. You're just nervous."

"More importantly, what was that demon doing with Miki?" Kairi asked.

I walked up to where he was trapped. "Let's ask him ourselves."

"Tch. . ." he muttered. "You're pretty dang fast, for kids. Catchin' me is no easy feat."

Rima shrugged. "We caught you off guard, that's all. But we'd like to know what you were doing with Miki."

"The servant girl?" The demon raised an eyebrow. "And if I don't tell?"

"We all have weapons," Utau hissed. "Take what you will from that."

He chuckled, surprisingly still calm. "A death threat, is it? And I'm assuming that this net is magic-proof?"

I gulped hard and nodded. "Try getting out of there and you'll get an electric shock so bad it'll nearly kill you."

"That's a spell that's too advanced for you." The demon frowned. "You should only be able to create normal nets at your level."

"Can you even judge my power?" I tried my best to snort haughtily. "I'm Amu Hinamori. I have power to overthrow a whole kingdom, and you think that a magic-proof net isn't my level."

Everyone stared at me. I'd just have to trust that they'd stay silent.

"If you wanna try, go for it. I'm sure you'd like to see what comes after death."

The demon's face became even whiter than it already was. "So you do have this special power."

"Let's make a bargain. If you spill everything about Miki, then I'll tell you about my power."

He nodded. "Very well."

Rima tapped her foot against the ground. "We don't have all day," she said bossily. The little girl was a heck of a lot better at that 'haughty' voice than I was.

"I was controlling the servant," he admitted immediately. "My plan was to capture you, Amu, and also quell the rebellion I knew was stirring."

"How?" Yoru gasped. "We kept it top secret."

"I have the ability to possess others. They call me the Demon Lord for that. I came here in order to bring Tiraldae under demon control. After that, it would be simple to take over Earth and all three worlds would be under my control." He paused, eyes sweeping over all of us.

"I came under the pretense of being a royal officer and took control of hundreds of minds, looking for something that would allow me to take control. I eventually came across a rising rebellion. I seized control of one of the leaders of this operation - your dear servant friend - and learned of Amu Hinamori soon after. I knew what I had to do then. If I got you, Amu, who had this power, I could sway the whole rebellion in my favor. Using Amu and all those who were rebelling, I could overthrow the king and queen, making myself king."

I frowned. "I have one problem with this."

"What?"

"Don't call me Amu. You don't have that right."

Next to me, Ran nearly bit her lip trying to stop herself from laughing.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine then, Miss Hinamori. Anyways, I got the army to pursue you, though the plans I devised unwittingly led them to chase you right into Miki's hands. Everything was going perfectly, until they ordered you executed. I thought that I'd failed, but it seems you're alive. If you would be so kind as to let me out, I would be able to succeed, and you'd be granted a top place in the royalty. Perhaps as a queen." He winked.

I felt like I'd throw up. "Never, you little. . .!"

"Wait," Kukai interrupted us. "I thought the king and queen were in charge of capturing us."

Tadase's eyebrows shot up comically. "Don't tell me you're controlling them as well!"

The Demon Lord sighed. "You're smarter than I thought. I was going to conceal that information, as it has nothing to do with the servant, but. . ."

"Release your control on them immediately," Utau commanded. "Or we'll kill you."

"So either way, I'll die," he growled. "If I release my control, I'll be executed within a week. And if say no, you'll kill me."

Ran's eyes flashed. "Something's off."

"I was never a risk-taker, but I guess I have no choice." A spiral of purple magic twisted from his fingers, expanding into a tremendous blast headed for the net.

I stiffened.

The net shattered the second the magic connected with it. The Demon Lord stepped out, intact.

"You were just bluffing, weren't you." He dusted off his suit jacket. "I spilled, figuring that it wouldn't hurt you to know the plan. As long as you agreed to work with me to kill the king and queen."

"I'm not going to," I insisted.

"I know," he said. "Which is why I might have to use some. . .drastic. . .measures."

He raised a hand.

Miki bolted upright just as the magic materialized in his palm. "Watch out! He's trying to -"

The last thing I could remember was a hand snaking into my mind and Miki screaming.

So. . .yeah. This story is almost over. Depending on how the next chapter flows, there will either be one or two more chapters, as well as a short epilogue. thanks for sticking around this far and please continue till the very end!