Someone once said that "memories are nice, but that's all they are..." but, what if memories were all one had? And if that, too, vanished would the person keeping the memories fade away? Most people out there would not agree. Some times memories are more important than we realize. often we never understand this until its too late.


Aliidan, still unconcious from the previous fight, was slowly fading away from the world of the living...
In her unconcious dream she saw a city, a City flooded with water. "What... Aiyah! What a nice place~" Aliidan exclaimed in delight, wandering the dream citys flooded streets, the water wecloming and nice on her feet and legs. "But... Wasn't I doing... something? Something important?" Aliidan stopped abruptly as she stared at what looked like a human...

the City of Memories:

William woke up in the Arcadian Adventurers dormitories. It was so silent and rather strange. "Drink... drink..." He silently gets up, thinking about the group that fought so well to keep him alive. "Thanks... everyone... truly..." He silently mumbles, knowing no one would hear him. He owes so much to everyone else. Now that all the people in his body have been expelled and running amok in the magical world, he vowed, no matter what, he won't let them die. Though of course, they're all strong enough to look after themselves. That's why they're his allies, of course.

"Now... Aliidan, we have to do something about her." He murmurs out loud, chugging down a cup of milk he poured for himself. "She was... fading away. What the hell was that when we were in the Flying Castle mission? Not only that, I ended up meeting her and Riro with my aging pills... not good." He sighs, as he's definitely not allowed to let anyone know of the aging pills that Rickardo illegally smuggled to be in use by Will. After they rescued Allidan, next coming was the tournament. He had to work hard, as he was pairing up with Rose and Ashraeh. He vowed to himself to fix his ditsy childhood friends condition before that so she can sit back and relax from now on.

Rie was seated in a couch, huddled up in a multitude of warm blankets and drinking hot green tea and reading a book. In short, Rie had maanged to catch the Common Cold, as evident by the occasional sneeze escaping her. The book Rie was reading was called "The Other Worlds" and told of other worlds, beside the dream and waking worlds. The only thing revealing Rie was the very top of her head with its sprawling white hair.

Rose was helping Rie with her cold awhile ago, but now she seems to be fine. "Are you sure you're fine now?" Rose asks. It was late at night, but she wasn't sleepy. More or less because she wanted to stay aware as her spirits foreboded a dark event happening in the near future but was unable to give any details of what. "I want to watch a horror movie, but everyone went to sleep..." She sobs to herself. She wouldn't watch the movie by herself as she probably would get scared and feel lonely. After all, she does easily get caught up in these things like once she saw Kitty's artifact summon werewolves and vampires despite their small size, it did scare Rose.

"Hmm...?" She noticed William talking to himself. She heard the name Aliidan no less, but she chose to ignore it. He's right about the strange events around Aliidan. She hoped she could help her childhood friend as soon as possible.

Aliidan continued exploring the city that she had found herself in, occasionally seeing what appeared to be ghosts... "This really is an amazing place... It reminds me a little of something..." Aliidan said softly to herself, sitting down on some steps leading up to one of the many houses in the city.

Rie let out a sneeze before answering Rose, flexing her prosthetic left arm slightly. "Yes, I'm fine... Thank you. -sniffle- `What bad luck..." Rie said softly, letting out another sneeze as she snuggled more into the blankets. "What should we do about Aliidan? I have never heard of something like her current condition before..." Rie spoke gently, taking a sip of her tea.

Aliidan walked along the water covered streets, searching for something that was just out of reach... 'In this city... There are no people. The lights are on in all the houses. But there's nobody on the streets. Are there people inside? I peek in a window to find out. There are people. But they are with them. I look in other houses. These people are with them, too. Being with them is fun. More fun than being with people. Nobody comes outside anymore. There are no people in this city...' Aliidan continues her search while thinking to herself. 'I will leave this city and go to another one. I hope that I will meet someone. Someone just for me. But if that special someone falls in love with me... I will have to leave that someone. Even so, I want to meet that special someone.' This is what she thinks, as she continued to the next city...

"Aliidan, are you 'aight?" William asks her as she seemed to curiously walking around. The area, he had never seen it before, it was a ghost town, despite signs showing otherwise. "Ahhh..." He moans, having a warm sense of nostalgia for some unknown reason. This area, it have him a warm feeling yet the place felt so disconnected, so cold.

"Where are we...? And what will we doing from here?" He inquires.

Aliidan took no notice of Will, lost in her own thoughts as she was. 'Just as I feared...there's no one here either. Everyone is inside with them. Being with them is like living a beautiful dream. A beautiful dream that no one wants to wake up from. They will grant your deepest wishes. They will do whatever you ask. They will be whatever you want. They can do things that you cannot. But...there is one thing... they cannot do.' Allidan thought as she continued exploring the new city... 'They can never become people. They might look like people, but they are only substitutes. I know this very well because I am one of them.'Several days seemingly passed in the blink of an eye as Aliidan continued searching 'Today I look for someone just for me. Someone who will love me even if I can't fulfill their wishes. Someone who has love for me alone. But... There is another me. The other me asks: "Does such a person exist?" I need...someone whose love for me is true. I want...someone who loves me without asking anything in exchange. I hope...unless that someone loves me for being me... ...they're not someone just for me. Is this so? "It is." This someone exists? "He does."' Aliidan unknowingly carried on her conversation with Rhien the "Other Her" as she thought of it... 'If so...then where? My someone is nearby, I think. Perhaps I already know him. "But... what if that person does not love you back? What if that person likes someone...other than you? People aren't like them. You can't erase their feelings. People aren't easy to change."' Rhien said gently, sending a meaningful look towards Will. 'I know. But people do change. Their feelings are dynamic. "Feelings of love are more resistant than others. What if he never loves you?" Then I'll have to decide. Decide...and then do what must be done. Me and the other me...' Aliidan look directly at Rhien, and Rhien looks directly back at Aliidan...

William walked around casually. This place felt so strange, so distant... as if it was... a dream. "Where is this place...? I haven't seen around anywhere." William confusingly asks. Of course, he didn't expect a reply as Aliidan seemed in her own world. She also seemed distant, just like the area they were in.

As he roamed around, he began hearing Aliidan's voice. Deep and meaningful, yet somewhat sorrowful. "Aliidan? What's wrong?" He turns to her, noticing her mouth not moving. She wasn't speaking, but he could hear her. She kept talking, about what they can do, only to stop at she is one of them. What's them? What is Aliidan? What is she talking about? Thoughts filled William's mind, until he had a sudden realizaton. Telepathy. "Is it telepathy?" He thought. No, it couldn't be. Aliidan was not reacting to his endless train of thoughts and he had been thinking the moment he can here. The last thing he even remembers is arriving home after an extremely tiring mission with a small kid he refuses to name.

Time went by fast in this place. He notices Rhien, but why is she here? It was all so strange. As time progressed, he began to take it all in. He could feel the world around him, it wasn't real. Or rather, it wasn't his world. The world he has lived in. He could hear all Aliidan's thoughts, she wasn't her. Wasn't the cheerful, strong yet ditsy girl that couldn't stand on her own two feet. She hadn't replied to him, not once since they came. She's clearly been affected by this all. As Rhien began to speak, he nods at her. Aliidan, Rhien, they were sisters. But they weren't like normal sisters. Walking over to the two, he grabs Aliidan by the shoulder. "I don't know about all this... Man, it's rude of me to think I know it all too. It's hard to say this, but people change. I think, you're not the same a all of us..." He pauses. "But you're one of us. You're an amazing girl, the one who helped me through the teenage years at the school. Who helped Rose through her childhood. You're Aliidan and you will always be the Aliidan I know. Don't worry, no matter how much you change, I'll accept you." He breathes. Blushing slightly.

"Do you remember? Hana? Do you remember that name?" He glances over at Rhien too. "Love is something that can change, you have one life to life." He puts his fist in front of her chest - her heart. "Always keep trying, don't give up. If you don't try, you don't know what will happen, so..." He takes in one more breath. "You're you and if you keep moving forward, your feelings could reach anybody." He tilts his head and smiles. The girl he knew wouldn't give up, she'd stay headstrong and move forward. She may not have William's strength, Rie's skill or Roses's smarts, but to him, she was the strongest. She stuck her head high and stood proudly. Independently. Being a girl who had stage freight and one who didn't want to go to class early, she was herself. She always moved forward, always powered through. She was strong.

Aliidan stared into Will's intensely blue eyes, at first not seeming to take notice of anything else... "You... I know you... You are Shirou... You aided me... Us... In the castle...." Aliidan spoke softly, still staring into Will's eyes. "You need to focus more if you wish for her to fully see you." Rhien said from behind Will "Right now, Aliidan can only see that which has intense focus... And due to your blunder she has taken to asociate your blue eyes with that of your older identity, rather than you yourself. No need to fear... She cannot hear us for the moment." Rhien said softly as she moved back in front of Aliidan, their red eyes meeting once more. "You will need to return soon. The rest are waiting..." Rhien said gently to Aliidan "What... What do you mean... Other Me?" Aliidan asked, the first tremor of a deep rooted fear evident in her shimering voice. "They will be here soon... You know fully well what they will do to you.... My dearest Me. You cannot be here when They arrive.... Listen, can you hear Them?" Rhien said, brushing her fingers against Aliidan's lips as she spoke. "Yes... I.. I can hear them... Where should I go, Other Me?" Aliidan asked, taking Rhien's fingers in her hand and kissing them softly as she closed her eyes. "Go Back, back to where They cannot follow. He will show you the way." Rhien said, indicating Will as she clasped booth of Aliidan's hand together and kissed them. "What about you... Other Me? Who will save you? Who will bring you back?" Aliidan asked, a few stray tears dripping onto the water, sending gentle ripples on its still surface. "It is too late for me, my Dearest Me..." Rhien said sadly in reply, once more kissing Aliidan's hands as Aliidan let out more tears.

"Shirou...?" William wonders. Right... that Shirou. The result of the pills the now missing Rickardo stole from the magic council. It wasn't something others should find out, or else consequences would arise. Rhien quickly intervenes, as sweat drips from William's forehead. "Right." He replies to her as she explains that Aliidan only sees him as Shirou now. He had to explain everything, there was no time to be half-hearted.

As Rhien begins to talk to Aliidan. He could tell, she was leaving. This strange feeling, a feeling topped with grief and sadness. He didn't want to lose her, not Rhien. The kind, mature woman he had known for awhile. "Rhien... No... Don't do this--" He mutters, shaking slightly. He knew he couldn't do anything to save her, he felt helpless. Powerless. He pauses for a second. He had to save Aliidan, he knew he had no choice. "...Rhien Hana, right? ...I won't forget you." He gazed at her, determined and passionate. He had to move forward.

He grabbed Aliidan. Carrying her firmly, yet gently. "We have to... go..." He sobs, slightly. He had no clue where they were, but he ran. He had never seen any of this place before, but he could feel it. As if it was calling out to him to go this direction. To leave. To save Aliidan. "I will save you, no matter what...! Person, Beast, Dragon, Animal or even Memory... Don't give me that crap! You're you and no matter who or what you are, you mean a lot to me!" He shouts.

Aliidan's tears kept on flowing gently as she kept her eyes shut, leaving a trail ripples on the water surface (which seemed strangely unaffected by Shirou's presence), the sound of her tears echoing slightly. Before long a new sound could be heard far behind them, a shrill shrieking kind of noice as in the distance black shapes gathered, moving quickly towards the two of them. "They are coming..." Aliidan whispered softly into Shirou's ear. "Can you hear them?" again the shrill sound was heard, closer this time...

In this place, Will was the same as them. As everyone here. Everyone is equal. A mere memory, that could fade into the over-arching presence of this massive city. Of course, he didn't know this and shrugged off any sense of danger he had. As Aliidan speaks to him, he couldn't hear them at first. He turned around, he couldn't see them either. This was dangerous, too dangerous. Concentrate, he had to concentrate. "Aliidan... I can..." He says, clothing his eyes and staying as still as possible.

"Hear them!" Flames explode from his hand he was pointing away from Aliidan, consuming the shadow that was about to pounce at him. One would normally attribute the flames to William, however these flames were more fierce, stronger and because of his new found devotion into protecting the people around him, felt even more safer. The flames crackled intensely for a bit as William holds Aliidan firmly and uses Shunpo to create some distance from the shadow creatures again. He knew some were still coming and it'd be dangerous to fight them all at once.

The distance was closing again, however he could sense it. The exit was drawing near...

Aliidan kept her eyes closed as she was carried towards the exit, enjoying the closeness she had with Shirou at the moment in spite of the danger just behind them... The Shadowy creatures, uppon seeing the display of firey power, hesitated slightly before emitting another shrill cry, the water sloshing violently as they moved rappidly after the escaping pair. "Thank you... For trying to help..." Aliidan whispered, planting a soft kiss on Shirou's neck, her tears mixing in with the kiss.

William holding her in a bridal-style ran as fast as he could. The fire held them off for a bit, but as the shadow shrugged it off, they initiated their pursuit with a spine-chilling screech. Either way, Aliidan and Will had the head start on them and could feel the exit drawing near. 'We can make it!' At least, that's what he thought. The shadows got faster and Aliidan seemed to show signs of having different thoughts. As she began to speak, he tried to stop her. He didn't want to be thanked, he didn't want to be applaud, he wanted to save her. As Aliidan suddenly kisses him, William's face turned completely red, his body shivered abruptly at the kiss and he could feel his temperature rising, feeling as if hotter than the flames he could produce with his magic. "A-A-Aliidan, what are you--?!" He stutters a few times, confused and embarrassed.

As Aliidan finishes speaking. William clearly shakes his head. Putting her down, "Go." He firmly says. "Don't say anything. We'll be fine, alright? No, you'll be fine. Don't thank me for trying to help, thank me for hauling you to safety, because that is what I will definitely do." He gazed at her passionately. He wouldn't take no for an answer, he was going to fight these shadow creatures, whether she liked it or not. He couldn't tell if they could be defeated or not, but he had to try. You could tell whether far or close, William was seething. 'Rhien's gone... And I won't let this happen to you, Aliidan... No matter what. Even if I have to stay behind.' His intentions were clear.

Electricity crackled from his gauntlets, but knowing Aliidan, she was afraid of lightning; funnily enough which was also very high on her aptitude list. Fire exploded from his arms and intensely blazed, despite its fierce appearance, it would feel comforting and dependable. As if it would protect you. It didn't resemble the fire William could create in the past at all. "Go Men A Sai, Omne Flammans Flamma Purgatus, Domine Extinctionis et Signum Regenerationis," He begins chanting.

Aliidan said nothing as she was set down, she kept her eyes shut as she started to run, her tears still falling softly, leaving a trail of ripples on the water that soon got swallowed up by the waves made by the shadowy creatures attacking Shirou.... The closer she got towards the exit the more solid her body became in the world of the living.
"Memories tua decora Educ eldrith procellis calamitosamque destructionem ad annihilare inimicus meus!" Rhein, appearing suddenly chanted clearly, the sky darkening overhead as the magica lightning gathered in the air. "Sorry I'm late... I had to fight off some big ones." Rhien said moments before the storm broke loose, sending thunder crashing down onto the shadowy creaures.

William sighed fortunately. "Thanks." He mutters to Aliidan as she runs off. The shadows were strong, William was one of the strongest magicians in Everlast and was still having major difficulty to fend them off. He got a deep scratch across his back, a small cut across his cheek. Of course, neither were permanent, but it shows how cornered he was. Fire exploded across the area and twirled around, blasting in the shadow creatures to make no difference.

"Haa... haa.." William was out of breath, chanting became hard. As he tried to do a last ditch effort and use his strongest spell that could create calamity for even himself, chanting overlaps his and lightning explodes on the shadowed creatures. "Rhien... you're alright!?" He collapses on the ground after the fight was over. "Thank god... Where is this place? What can we do to save you and Aliidan?! Why did you stay behind!?" William rushes her with questions, he had so much to ask, but he could tell he didn't have much time.

"What... should I do...?" He finally asks.

Rhien looked Will over before healing him. "Being "All Right" is relative. My physical body has faded away so I cannot leave here. This is the realm where memories go, Aliidan has almost escaped back to the world of the living... Why did I stay behind? Partially to give you and Aliidan some Alone Time, but mainly to fight off more bad memories." Rhien said, holding out a hand for Will to grasp "You have two options, either stay here for a while longer and fight off the enemies, or leave me here to fight them alone and escaping the same way Aliidan did... Its really not safe out on the streets in this world, that's why every memory is inside the buildings." Rhien explained.

William listened intently to Rhien. As she explains the situation Aliidan and the situation she used to be in, giving William two choices to make, he knew. He had to run, he was helpless against the shadows, there was no way to help. But, he didn't. In fact, he couldn't. If he ran now, Aliidan would surely be thrust into this type of situation again. "You'll be stuck with me a little longer..." He states, throwing fireballs at the shadow creatures.

"Flamma of abyssus , flamma of Olympus redimio meus telum neco! Redimio meus somes protego! Sino mihi pugno pro meus amicitia quod evinco meus hostilis! Incendia Loricatus!" He chants as fire consumes his body increasing his strength and resistance. "Flagrantia Rubicans Quinculmen!!" He finishes off as 4 massive pillars of condensed fire shoot forward and explode with intense head.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do anything..." He pauses. "So let me do right... how do I save Aliidan from this anymore!?"

Rhien deftly dodges a strike from one of the creatures, sending it flying into a group of others with a punch a moment later, this combined with Will's attack was enough to take out a good deal wof them... But more were coming. "Memories Tua Decora Educ purificans lux ad debellandos inimicis meis!" Rhien chanted, a great light starting to shine, growing increasingly bright before illuminating a great deal of the city, destroying much of the creatures in the process... "That should buy us some time to recover before the next wave... So, tell me, how have you been? Got any pactio's done yet?" Rhien asked with a smile, small beads of sweat on her forehead the only indicator of her exertion so far...

William was amazed at Rhien's tenacity. Only sweat indicated her exhaustion, whilst William was panting and sweating bullets. Rhien's spell evoked the entire area with a massive beam of light. It was similar to Will's strongest spell except probably more powerful and a lot more user-friendly. As Rhien asks that question, a drop of sweat dropped down his forehead. William fiddled a little bit in embarrassment, obviously indicating the answer was yes. "Only four..." He mutters quietly.

He couldn't help remember each different time. Rie was first, then Rose, Ashraeh and Jess... Something was strange about the pactio cards though. William couldn't help but think about it now that the topic was raised. 'Rie... one. Rose, two... Ashraeh, three. Then there's... Jess... five...?' William thought to himself. It was strange. The numbers suddenly skipped for no reason. He doesn't matter, but the missing number itched at the back of his mind. As if someone had the right to the number 4.

"What about you? You're an experienced magician, one of the best I've seen. You got a few, right?" He returns the question.

Rhein smiled brightly, a smile reminiscent of the one Aliidan used to have 24/7, back before everything started going off the deep end for her.
"That's three more than me. I've only got one." Rhien said, brandishing a copy of the card, showing a brown haired young lady holding a staff, looking serious like nobodys business. "This is Simile Corinth, my ministra. If you ever find her, tell her I'm sorry I couldn't make it back and that I will always watch over her. Cheesy as that line is, it works. Oh, and she Might be a bit... Hot Blooded, shall we say, so don't be surprised if she tries beating you up to get my whereabouts out of you." Rhien let out a laugh at the image in her mind.

Simile Corinth:

Through the use of pactio cards, you could telepathatically communicate with your ministers over extremely long distances, however if in the memory world that didn't seem to be possible. "Even one is pretty impressive." William compliments. Maybe more pactios was the only thing Will had above Rhien? Who knew. "I'll definitely get your message to Simile... and hopefully... get you two to see each other again." He says.

Breaking this news to Simile would be hard, especially given the description of her personality. He could feel like he's getting knocked around already. "Either way... Ex Somno Exsistat Exurens Salamandra... Let's not worry about that now!" He interchanges between casually speaking and chanting, "Inimicum Involvat Igne! Captus Flammeus!" He finishes as massive flames that don't burn begin to swirl and bind approaching shadow creatures into place. It wouldn't hold for too long, however definitely enough to get another attack in.

Rhien smiled brightly at Will, nodding before turning towards the creatures that had assembled once again.
"Memories Tua Decora Sempiterna nox amore devoret te et non relinquat omnia evanuerunt in infernis tenebris poenitentiam!" Rhien chanted, a growing sphere of darkness held in her hands, seemingly draining the Dark Memories of their power...